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Official Amstrad Home Computing Magazine 


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MASTERFILE III 


FOR THE AMSTRAD CPC 6128 (ALSO CPC 464/664 WITH DK TRONICS 64K RAM) 


FIRMLY ESTABLISHED ALL THIS POWER ... 


MASTERFILE III is now firmly established as 
THE filing system for the CPC6128, It has received 
rapturous reviews and we could paper the walls of 
our new offices with our customers’ letters of 
appreciation. 

For the benefit of newcomers to the CPC machines: 
MASTERFILE III is a powerful and flexible data 
filing and retrieval system. All ‘‘database” systems 
require that your data is organised into fields and 
records- Unlike most, MASTERFILE does not 
commit you to field lengths or formats, since ALL 
data is variable-length and optional- Files are not 
pre-formatted, and only used bytes are saved to 
disc. Also, unlike the rest, MASTERFILE allows 
multiple user-defined ways of viewing/printing 
your data. And unique in its price range, MASTER- 
FILE offers RELATIONAL FILE options, where¬ 
by common data can be entered just once and 
shared by many records- Maximum field size is 
240, maximum fields per record is over 50, and 
maximum file size is 64K- Room for 1,000 full 
names and addresses, for example. Only one disc 
drive is required. It is menu-driven throughout, and 
comes with detailed illustrated manual, and exam¬ 
ple files- 

SO VERY VERSATILE ... 

Just about ANY kind of information can be 
handled by MASTERFILE. You can EXPORT the 
data to otheT systems (e.g, PROTEXT/MERGE and 
TASWORD). You can even merge your own USER 
BASIC to MASTERFILE for customised file 
processing, or build new files from other computer 
sources. The speed of SEARCH of MASTERFILE 
is second to none. Records can be sorted ascending/ 
descending, character or signed numeric, even 
embedded keys such as surnames. Other functions 
are field-to-field calculations, and several-across 
label printing. We simply don’t have room to list all 
the features; give us a call if you are still in doubt 
of the power of MASTERFILE III. 


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This is no toy thrown together in BASIC and half- 
tested, but real machine-coded computing power 
professionally constructed. We have had IBM and 
Apricot users beg us for a MASTERFILE for their 
machines — when they had seen the earlier CPC 
MASTERFILE- All this power is yours for 
£39.95. 

For those who already have an earlier MASTER- 
FILE, we offer updates; please telephone for 
details. You will be amazed at the performance 
improvements and extra functions. 

**★ PCW users: be patient, MASTERFILE 8000 
will be ready early in 1987 


MASTERCALC 128 SPREADSHEET 

We also have one of the fastest and friendliest 
spread-sheet programs around, MASTERCALC 
128. Its special features include: individual tailor¬ 
ing of column widths and precision ; relocatable 
formulae; split-screen option; automatic cursor 
advance; text output to printer, or to disc for 
interface with PROTEXT or TASWORD; hi res 
graphic histogram of any three rows, MASTER¬ 
CALC 128 runs on CPC6128, or CPC464/664 with 
DK'tronics RAM. The price is just £33,00 



SPECIAL OFFER 

You can save £10 by taking MASTERFILE III and 
MASTERCALC 128 for a combined price of just 
£62.95. 

Prices include VAT and P&P to anywhere in 
Europe. Elsewhere please add 20 % for air-mail 
service. ACCESS/VISA/MASTERCARD welcome, 
written or telephoned, quoting card expiry date. 
Make cheques payable to “Campbell Systems”. 
Our normal response is return of post, 1st class. 

CAMPBELL SYSTEMS Dept. (ACU) 

7 Station Road, EPPING, Essex CM 16 4HA, 
England. Tel: (0378) 77762/3, 









































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REGULARS 


7 News 

10 Gallup chart 

11 Letters 

18 Seek and Ye Shall Find 
23 Hairy Hacker 
74 LSB 



46 Assembly Point 

Once a program gets too big to be 
developed in memory you have to 
resort to some reading and writing. 
Peter Green explains how this is 
done, 

53 Frootee 

A fast agricultural game for you to 
type in, 

40 Phault Phinding 

Cure the listing lament by knowing 
what to look for when things go 
wrong. Rupert Goodwins offers the 
solution. 

50 Investigating roms 

Sideways roms hide away under 
the screen ram. Richard Sargent 
explains the hows, whys and 
wherefores of unmasking them. 



The Living Daylights 


ID is JB on the CPC. Binary Bond 
follows the plot of the film. Simon 
Rockman looks at both. 


42 Cage Page 

Amsters Cage is one of the liveliest 
areas on Prestel, where Amstrad 
owners dive in to ask and answer 
questions. Have a look at what they 
are saying. 

48 Bail Games 

What have Arkanoid, Ball Breaker 
and Krakout got to do with politics, 
gambling and children. No one is 
sure, not even Jeremy Clarkson. 

29 Amstrad BBS 

Amstrad bulletin boards are 
growing. A quick guided tour takes 
you around The interesting sigs. 


32 Home Finance Package 

Look after your LSD and VAT with 
HFP, a home budget control 
.package for CP/M plus. 

57 Software reviews 

Lizll fix it. If you want to fly an 
F‘15, a spaceship or run along the 
roof of a train then there is a game 
in here for you. Nigel, Colin and Liz 
venture into computerdom armed 
with a mere joystick. 


COMPETITION 


27 Bond Compo 

Win a trip to see Aston Martins 
being built, or a valuable collectors 
model, or whistling key ring. Do 
you know your 007? 




68 Come on round ladies and gents, 
'ave a look at what I've got to offer 
you this month. The art studio for 
painting types 'n Brian Clough's 
football fortunes for the terrace 
trendies. 


Cover photograph: Marty it Hawed. Aston Martin picture from Fast Lane, magazine 
007 Gat r Logo copyright tC) DAN-JAQ. The Living Daylights copy rig h t United Artists 



COMPUTER USER 


The official muyaiina for oil 
us&rt of Amstrad computer* 


Editorial and Advertising offices: 

169 King's Road. Brentwood, Enex CM14 4EF. 

7W; 0277-234459 fEditpriai); 0277 234434 (Advertising} 
T&f&com Go id: 72:MAG021 

Published by Avraflte Ltd.3*3/38 St, Petersgate, Stockjjort SKI t HL 

News trade distribution, Otemond-Epropress Seles & Distribution Ltd. 

Unit I, Burgess ft6*4, fvyhouse iflftp. Hei tings. East Sussex. TN3S 
Tel: 0424 430422 

Editor: Simon Rockman 
Advertisement Menubar; Jane Nofan 
Advertisement Assistant: Lorraine Day 


Amstrad is a registered trade and wr.th t*\c litis 

Amstrad Computer User is used wfffr j/ig permission of 
Amsfrjd Cortsu/net Our!rentes pte. No pea of this publi¬ 
cation may be reproduced without permission, White winy 
effort is rr?jc So io ensure ihu accuracy of ail features and 
listings we cannot accept any fiotniity (pr any mistakes or 
misprints The I'ienir and opinions expressed are not neeefr 
SPriiy those of Amstrad or Am SO ft but represent the views 
of our many readers, users, end contributors, Material for 
publication is only accepted Qo en eH-rigfitS bn sis, We regret 
that Amstrad Computer User cannot enter into per son.at 
correspondence, @ Avr#(tt& ltd 1SBT, 


Amstrad User September 1R87 


Page 3 






















































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hatestheruesthatstart Peer SIP Promerge Pius is a fast fiexfhfe mail- 
merge program tf at weds with Pretest to produce sttractim personalised 
letters Using heyhoardor file input if combines specificderails with standard 
drafts hasedooyeorseiectioecriteria Pod’withPOM-hosed.'PremergePlus 
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Bargain bonanza 


THE seventh Amstrad Show kicked off 
at Alexandra Palace in glorious 
sunshine. Despite the soaring tem¬ 
peratures inside and outside the hall, 
the first day's attendance was double 
that of any previous Am sir ad Show. 

Jostling in the aisles with the 
indigenous population were a surpris¬ 
ingly large number of overseas visitors 
- notably from Spain, Germany and 
Italy. 

There was even a representative 
from the official Chinese news agency 
prowling among the stands. And at 
least one Coronation Street star was 
sighted among the milling throng. 

Star of the show was the PC 1640 
ECD, the new- high resolution IBM 
compatible from Amstrad, 

The crystal clear text had visitors 
yearning for one while the computer 
was still booting up. A graphics demo 
showed a number of startling pictures, 
including one of the Alexandra Pavilion 
in which the show was held. 

At a time when most new products 
are aimed at the PC and PCW, it was 
heartwarming to see how much 
support there still is for the CPC. 

A MX had the MAX ram available, 
along with the new Swiss mouse. An 
unusually subdued demonstration 
emanated from Mike Beecher on the 
Electro Music Research stand and its 
Midi interfaces and synths. The EMR 
stand always sounds impressive, even 
with the volume set to appease neigh¬ 
bouring exhibitors. 

Arnor announced Protext for the 
PC 1512, 'Tt should be ready in five 
weeks'’, claimed Dave bisk. They have 
also cut the price of a couple of CP/M 
plus programs. 

Pocket Protest offers Protest - 
without spell checking or mailmcrge - 
for £49.95, and Maxam II (as reviewed a 
few months back) has also come down 
to £49.95, to cause a showdown with 
Devpac 80 version 2. 

Romantic Robot, master of clever 
hardware design, showed a new disc 
operating system for the CPC. This 
supports larger disc drives, a print 
spooler and a ram disc among its 
myriad functions. 

Look out for a review soon. It is 
expected to be a real hit with serious 
Arnold users, 

Amstrad User September 1987 


Ian Hoare demonstrated his new 
communications rom for the CPC, a 
menu-driven viewdata terminal. 

The software makes Prestel a joy to 
use, offering automated messaging, 
superb editing which includes word 
wrap (a feature Ian was surprised that 
no-one else included since it only took 
150 bytes), cut and paste functions and 
a pixel pad for graphics. 

Ian was giving a disc with an early 
version of the software to anyone who 
placed a deposit on the rom, which will 
cost about £35. For more details call 
him on 01 -965 8957. 

As usual the show r was a bargain 
buyer's dream, with lots of good deals 
on software and blank discs. And the 
new venue has proved a popular choice, 
l This is the first time an Amstrad Show 
has been held at Alexandra Palace - a 
move dictated because we outgrew our 
previous location”, said a spokesman 
for the show 1 organisers, Database 
Exhibitions. “We came here because it 


claimed to combine top quality with low 
cost has been released by Precision Dis¬ 
tribution. 

The speed of the Precision 4010 at 
252 lines a minute in draft mode and 
55,8 lines a minute for near letter qua¬ 
lity is the result of four print heads. 

IBM and Epson modes are available 
with a choice of nine fonts and high 
resolution graphics. A Centronics 
interface, is standard, as is an 8k print 


was a much bigger stage for this prestige 
event - but we could have done with at 
least twice as much room again. 

Hl One thing's for sure - this show is 
an even bigger bonanza for Amstrad 
users and suppliers than any previous 
event in the series”, 

The eighth Amstrad Show opens on 
October 28 ■ in Manchester, Details on 
Page 9. 

Logical choice 

THE fiendishly frustrating, yet totally 
logical maze game Xor is now available 
for the Amstrad CPC series. 

It comprises 15 levels of problems in 
which the player has to negotiate his 
way around a series of puzzles which 
require a combination of logic, strategy 
and experience to solve. 

If that sounds complicated, it is - but 
Xor is also both compulsively playable 
and intellectually stimulating and can 
interest youngsters as well as adults 
with its chess-like qualities. 

It costs £14.95 on disc, £9.95 on 
cassette from Logotron (0223 323656J. 


buffer. The machine will have a basic price 
of £369. 

Two special bundled packages 
are on offers Superb ase Personal the 
relational database from Precision with 
GEM and a mouse; or WordPerfect 
Executive, the combined word 
processor, spreadsheet and library. 
Each bundle costs £469. 

The Precision 4010 is the first 
hardware product bearing the com¬ 
pany’s own name badge. 



One head good, four heads better 

A FAST dot matrix printer which is 


Page 5 



































SPECTRUM 

£7*95 

SPECTRUM 


COMMODORE 

£8*95 

AMSTRAD 
















































NEWS 










Two releases 
from AMX 

ADVANCED Memory Systems, mouse 
breeders to the computer industry, 
have two new products, MAX is a 
WIMP (windows, icons, mouse and 
pointer) front end for CPC disc systems, 
It should make using the Amstrad disc 
system a doddle. Just point to the func¬ 
tion you want with the mouse and press 
for action. 

The second new AMX offspring is the 
AMX mouse Mk Til, claimed to be the 
best mouse yet. It has an accuracy of 
250 dots per inch and, according to 
AMS “superior ball technology”. 

These are the supposed benefits of 
the finest Swiss precision design. Made 
of plastic it looks pretty sleek, but is 
obviously not aimed at the yuppie 



market or they’d have carved the case 
out of an Alp, For further details con¬ 
tact AMS on 0925 413501. 

A third new product from Nick and 
Julie Pearson at AMS is in a production 
run of one. Congratulations to both on 
the birth of a baby boy. 

Latest printer 
from Amstrad 

THE next number in the series 1. 2000, 
3000, 4000 is 3160., The new printer 
from Amstrad is the DMP 3160, the 
160 denoting the speed. 

Based on the DMP 3000, and looking 
exactly the same, at £169 Amstrad’s 
new printer is the same price a* the old 
one but contains fewer chips and prints 
a good deal faster. 

Both the 3000 and 3160 will work 
with a CPC, but are really designed for 
use with a PC since they have a full 
IBM character set and a PC printer 
lead. 

Free Shade 
this summer 

DRUG pushers are known to give free 
samples to trap the innocent. Then 
once they are hooked they can’t stop. 

Micronet has adopted this ploy for 
Shades, the multi-user adventure on 

Amstrad User September 1DH7 



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Prcstel. Shades usually costs around £1 
an hour, but Micronet. are offering the 
first five hours free. You will still have 
to pay the phone charges and the 
regular Prestel on-line charges but at. 
least the adventure is free - that is 
until your five hours run out. 

Then you won’t want to waste all the 
effort you've spent building up a cha¬ 
racter so you will start to pay to play. 
All you need is a modem and the kind of 
nature that enjoys decapitating ores. 

New online 
directory 

ENHANCING its reputation for 
providing user-friendly services not 
found on other electronic mail systems, 
MicroLmk has come up with another 
unique innovation. 

Its, new online directory 7 moans subs¬ 


cribers now have the UK’s most sophis¬ 
ticated and comprehensive user list at 
their fingertips. 

For the first time on a commercial 
database they can update their own 
entries, list their interests and search 
out others with similar hobbies, 

Brand new, specifically tailored soft¬ 
ware speeds the search and locate 
procedure and reduces online time. 

The new search facility covers all 
entry fields names, occupations or 
activities, geographical location and 
leisure pursuits. 

Users can quickly locate details 
about other MicroLink subscribers in 
specific occupations or towns, or find 
out who shares their hobbies. 

But the major advantage for 
everyone is the opportunity to keep 
their directory entry current by keying 
in new information whenever a name 
or address changes. 


Competition winners 


CONGRATULATIONS to the winners 
of Amstrad Computer User competi¬ 
tions over the last few months. They 
were; 

Vidi Competitions Mr Andrew Skin¬ 
ner of Exeter. 

Scalextric Competition: Philip 
Newman, Bishop’s Stortford.. 

Runners Up: Michael A. Prescott, Liv¬ 
erpool; R.A, Nkhotls, Petersfield; Mark 
Bryant, Worcestershire; Craig Math- 
ieson, Brighton; M.W. Wahe, Kinloss; 
C.G, Fry, Cumbria; James Macarthur, 
Crowthorne; Matthew Wright, 
Ravensfield; Gary Evely, Street; 
Richard Browm, Bromley; Chris Hol¬ 
land, Oxford; Helen Richards, North 
Yorks; Mike Dexter Manchester; 
Robert Ferry, Buck nail; Martin Young, 


Glasgow; Emma Tndall, Kent; Simon 
Davies, Cornwall; Thomas Cunning, 
Glasgow; Stephan Haislev, Witney; 
David Rogers, Tiverton; Brett Shaw, 
Lowestoft; Nick Lygo-Baker, Ayles¬ 
bury; S.M, Weaver, Lymington; 
Anthony Guy, Bristol; Stephen Causer, 
Wiltshire, 

Football competition: Trevor 
Martin, Surrey; Matthew Letts, 
Reading; Damian Fearnley, Weyb- 
ridge; Colin Hayward, East Sussex; Jon 
Kristion, Anstey R. Barry Anstey St. 
Holier; J,A. Paddock, Wrexham; Paul 
Hoffman, Surrey; M.J. Boulter, Lutter- 
worth; Mr A. Parekh, East Sussex. 
Pace competition: Maria Banks, 
Aylesbury; Paul Hewson, Wallington; 
T.C. Ward, Rotherham. 


Page? 





























































































































WHAT IS THE ANSWER T^tlFE, THE <jNiV£RS £, AND £VEfty THING 


fort/ two = two 


y£S, fort/two pouhps is the special 

$LW<*£R PRICE OR THE MULTIPACE Two. 


3 



A: Basically to mate Back-ups ol programs on a CPC 464,B64 or 51 JB and also to enable you to 
study alter and customize them 

Q: OH, DO I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE PROGRAMS OR EVEN ALTER THEM TO 
MAKE BACK-UPS? 

k NO! - NOT with she MULTI FACE TWO - it is in tecs the ONLY product on (He market which works FULLY 
automatically. You load any program a» usual, run it for as long as you like and whan you wish to make a 
copy you jest press the MULTIFACF'& ned button and follow (he menu and nn-scraen instructions. 

Q: HOW DOES IT WORK THEN? IS IT EASY? USER-FRIENDLY? ERROR TRAPPED? IDIOT PROOF? GUARANTEED? 

A: YES' ft works a treat and it could not bo easier. The menu gives lour basic options-to SAVE a program, to RETURN to continue it, to JUMf> : say to your own routines- 
invaluabJefor hackers) and TOOL to access the MULTI-TOOLKIT set nt Built-in utilities. For example pressing Sro SAVE will first allow you to NAME the back-up and then lot you 
save a program or just a SCREEN tu tape or disk Before the saving itself. MULTlFAGE compresses the program so that it takes the least amount of space on tape/disk 
and will re-mad as quickly as possible. Once a program is saved, you can RETURN or JUMP, use the TOOLKIT h> change it, SAVE it again, elc. 

Q; DON'T YOU CORRUPT THE SCREEN WITH YOUR MENU, INSTRUCTIONS T PULL DOWN WINDOWS. ETC. ? 

k NO MULT -ACE TWO has its own memory (9K ROM & BK RAM) and a lot more hardware - thus when it finishes its fob or when you re-load your back-ups, everything ig FULLY 
and A UTOM AT ic A L L Y restored NOTH IMG else can do this and on al I other devi ce& you wjf I need to try to restore the screen : its modes, co lou rs wi ndows etc - this takes a urte 
some time and effort and the failures is high , 4 

Qr OK, SO MULTIFACE CAN COPYFROM TAPE TO DISC, BUT CAJV IT ALSO COPY FT?0,H TAPE TO TAPE OR DISC TO DISC OR DISC TO TAPE? 

A: Ot course it can. MUL 1 1 FACE saves either to tape or disc and it saves whatever happens to be n the computer at that time it does nol matter whether It was originally loaded from 
tape or disc or even typed in, so all comb nations are possibte- 

Qt SO FAR SO GOOD, BUT CAN'T I DO ALL THIS WITHOUT THE MULTIFACE? 

A: ABSOLUTELY NOT! First, you need a hardware device. a "magic box’, to Be able to Stop and copy any program at any stage - no soltware-based copier can in principle ever do that. 
Any tape/d sc copier will just try to copy a tape as it is-if there are unorthodox leaders, speediocks. protections against copying, etc you’If endup wilh a problem - but not with a 
Back-up. If you wish to back-up any games! anypeint, be it upon loading or after going through the tens lock or half-way through, if you wish to poke infinite lives and then save, etc. - 
you just can't do anything lite rt with tape/disc cop ers - you need the MUIJIFACE! 

<?■ MULTIFA CE IS NOT THE ONLY ‘MA GIC BOX' ON THE MARKET - WHY SHOULD J BUT IT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE? 

k There are lour devices on the market: Action Replay by Dates Electronics. Disc Wcart by Evesham Micros. Mirage Imager and MULTITAPE TWO, Each manufacturer would naturally 
argue his product is the best buy - fortunately (for you and us), MfCRQNET recently compared all four units and MULTIFACF TWO came out the best m literally all respects' the most 
successful one 100%!. the ONLY AUTOMATIC ONE, the FASTEST ONE both in LOADING AMD SAYING time, the vm taking the LEAST ROOM when saving - and you still get a couple 
of EXTRAS' a RESET button and an extensive and unique MUITLTQOLKIT 


mUlTlFACE two 
S imPLY tfAKES 
LlF£ worth 
living 
again ! 


The summary of MICRONET tests: "MULTIFACE TWO from ROMANTIC 
ROBOT wins easily on all features! It is faster, more convenient, more 
successful, uses less space and has more facilitiesT 


iiiiiiimiiiiiiniii 





V. 


|l# wAiYiUW ti| 

MICRONET 

RESULTS 

ACTION 

REPLAY 

DISK 

wizard 

IMAGER 

MULTI FACE 
TWO 

Success Ratio 

liliil 

ymi 

f§||jp 

ioo% 

Average Saving Time ; 

PHHiHi 

pi| 

38.5 

Average Setting 

(Cofreclicm) Time 



zero 

Average Loadin*g Time 

piiiflPl 


13.7 

Average File Sue 


lilihs! 

49. k 


Tap*-to-dnk ai the touch of a button 
aidicLkiua, you may *ay. hut it works every 
tune Mnftif*ce can step any program m n* 
tracks iRd aave ihe pTQgrnrn. from. metrtOiy 
tu eLLh^r lape ot disk if* cocupLeceLy fool¬ 
proof Similar pteducrs have had problems 
wilh acittoA Size, colour and even sound. 
Muhitacn w< handUr aJt iltese withc'-ii * 
srrnnc: Iheuy ht. 

That il&rtS would have salisficrl many 
people, bul Romanuc R^bui has gene one 
step further, Lheerp&raltngi a memory edi¬ 
tor No program IF safe with Ihi:; eVety- 
ihing la out in the open, including U-.e 200 
jirgiricis, CRTC Hnl>- and any p-ir! of 
memory 

Dor'I be foaled mla Ihinkmg -h:will 
result lt« mass piracy, however The JWui'rj- 
!act: ur.il ifsieilE rr.usi he. plugged ip(g your 
All'll tad 10 allow reloading Of a program d 
saved 

Miiffifiiito E must bo the cinvornr.! hard¬ 
ware device at ptesenl - a necessity fur 
disk owners who thought they were aiuck 
wtlli loading Iron tape every lime. 

AMSTKAU ACTION [AN l 'ARY 15*87 


The special price of £42 OO applies strictly to 
mall orders received with the coupon below 
before the end of Septembe r 1987, g 


wAtifoce two THE ESSENTIAL AMSTRAD CPC COMPANION 


Please send me a MULTIFACE TWO at £42.00 plus p&p- U K £1.00, Europe £2,00, O verseas £3.00 

I enclose a cheque PO for £.„.or debit my QS mo | ," . „ ~| Card . 

Name & address .._...... 


■Mini* e#o#¥ 


* 1 nJ 15 Hayland Ctose London NW9 0LH 




Page 8 


Amstrad User September 1&87 





























































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pi-sOT v ne^ 


10am-6pm Friday October 23 
10am-6pn? Saturday October 24 
10am-4pm Sunday October 25 


G-Mex Centre , Manchester 


The fastest growing computer show of them all is now 
moving North - to the most innovative, prestigious 
exhibition centre in Britain. 

This magnificent building will play host to all the major companies in 
the Amstrad market - including Amstrad themselves, showing the 
complete range of machines. 

Whether you own an Amstrad CPC, PC W or PC - or just thinking 
of buying one - there will be lots for you to see and enjoy 


Organised by 
Database Exhibitions 


How to 
get there 

Situated in the heart of the 
city centre, G-MEX is only 
one mile from the M 602 , and 
there's ample parking space 
beneath the hall 
Within easy reach of Victoria 
and Piccadilly railway stations. 





THIS ADVANCED TICKET 
SAVES £1 A HEAD 
AND CUTS THE QUEUES 


I 


Advance ticket order 


Please supply. 

1 Afiuir 1 LcJcets at £2 (save£t).£.... 

. I UMrifir L£s tickets at £ L (save £]),.. £.... 

Total £_ 

□ Cheque endowed made payable to 
Database Publications Ltd. 

□ Pl$as£ debil my credit catd account 


SGSBQEEiE 
^COMPUTER 
03 



Name ... 
Address 


THE G-MEX CENTRE 
MANCHESTER 

October 23-35 

POST Id; Amsfraif Show Tickets, 
£k Tops House, SB Chester Road, 
Hazei l Prove, Stockport SK? 5NY. 


n Access p visa 

Admission At door: Advance ticket tndtn mm! 

£3 (adults), be received bv Wednesday, 

£7 funder IBs) Oelaber 14. IfS? 


. ..Signed..- 

PRONE ORDERS: Ring Show Hotline: 061-480 0171 
PRESTEL ORDERS: KEY *S 9 . THEN 614566 JB 3 
MICROLINK ORDERS: MAILBOX JgiMACOOl 

Please quote ct&dit card number and full address + AC U9 


























































c 

51 


oj q 
-* c 

» £ 

E Si 


1 

Jk. 

Ghost Hunters Code Masters 

1.99 

A spooky game by the same programmers as 
Grand Prix Simulator. It will by interesting to see 
what happens with the full price games from Code 
Masters, due for a September launch. 

RE 

100 

2 

► 

BiMX Simulator Code Masters 

1.99 

Cycling simulator best played with $ friend. 3 good, 
fun game with a low price. BMX may be on the 
decline, but the memory kind of lingers. 

2 

88 

3 

▼ 

Grand Prix Simulator Code Masters 

1.99 

Th e raci ng ga me for th o se wh o know ( heir oppos ite 

lock from h four wheel slide. Super Sprint by any 
other name would still play as sweet. This is a 
bargain. 

1 

80 

4 

• 

Barbarian Palace 

9.99 

Showing that sexisirr: is good for sates and a bit Of 
a decapitation doesn't hurt the bank bounce, 
Palace has exploited the fighting game theme with 
panache. 

NE 

78 

5 

▼ 

Six Pak Hit Pak 

9.99 

Proving that compilations are as popular as ever, 
this has scorched a trail into the chart gnd can be 
expected to hold on in there for some time. 

3 

55 

6 

w 

Feud Bulldog 

139 

First game on Masterf rpnic J s new ah el. Chunky 
spirits- h n d a mystic plot go to make up this 2D 
arcade game. 

4 

51 

7 

• 

Strike Msstertmic 

299 

Iso metric 3D 10 Frame-style game. Bowling seems 
to be the current games fad; this is probably better 
then the US Gold full pricer. 

NE 

50 

8 


Four Great Games .Were Value 

3.99 

A cheapie compilation. To think that some people 

thought that budge! software would see the death 
of th r games industry. Still if they ere such great 
games'why Sell them at lass that a quid each? 

10 

46 

9 

w 

Big 4 Durell 

9.95 

Top notch compilation which has two excellent 
games, one good game and a totally new program. 
With this kind of value it is a surprise that Big 4 has 
tumbled so far from number 1. 

5 

45 

10 

!▼ 

Head over Heels Ocean 

8.95 

Hours of entertainment make this a bargain. 
Observes a top five place ai. least. Very difficult, but 
shows a good sense of humour. The next game 
from Jon Hitman will be 3 match of the day sequel 

8 

43 

11 


Ninja Mastertronic 

1.99 

Th© fist fiends fight on. This time with a more 
vicious. trait and at a lower price. You have to fight 
off the hordes using a variety of weapons. 

6 

41 

If 


Army Moves Imagine 

1.99 

l he 4 irst Imagine game to result from a deal with 
the Spanish software house Din aim ic Bouncing 
buggies and 2D graphics. 

15 

39 

Vi 

!▼ 

Football Manager Addictive 

9.95 

JuSl think if you hadn't bought Football Manager 
a:| those months ago you would have saved a few 
bob. Will give you something to remind you of the 
game through the summer. 

11 

38 

il4 

[▼ 

Gauntlet US Gold 

2.99 

The only reason for this falling in the charts is that 
everyone has got a copy. If you haven't then your 
software library is incomplete. Go and buy 
Gauntlet. 

9 

35 

1! 

i ^ 

Five Star Games Beau Jolly 

9.99 

Another compilation which is doing an admirable 
job of hanging in the chart. Spindly makes this a 
classic compilation. 

7 

34 

1( 


Kona mi s Coin Op Hits imagine 

m 

Take the best from the arcades into your home 
Green Beret. Ping Pong r Hypersports, Mikie and the 
splendid Vie Ar Kung-Fu. Looking a shade dated 
| now r but a good blast all the same. 

12 

33 

r 

?▼ 

180 Mastertronic 

9.95 

Digital darts. You can't use the excuse that you 
need to steady your hand when you practice this 
non-intoxicating bar-room skil . 

13 

32 

n 

}▼ 

Computer Hits 5 Beau Jolly 

6.95 

Yet another compilation Old games never die, they 
just get recompiled. Good value as always. 

16 

30 

'll 


Mini Office II Database 

14,95 

Longstanding chart runner. A full suite of business 
programs for the price of a game. Idea' first look at 
sensible software with a wide range of powerful 
facilities. 

14 

29 

21 

)• 

Jackie & Wilde Bulldog 

1,99 

The ast of the new entries in quite a quiet month, 
all the action being at the top of the chart. Budget 
and compilations tighten a starrglehold. 

NE 

28 


¥ 


Non-mover 



Up 


Down 


New entry 


Chart compiled by 
Gal I u p/M i croSeop e 


Page 10 


Amstrad User September 1087 





















































































LETTERS| 


Hi, I'm Lance Davis, 
your letters editor. If there is any* 
thing yon think Amstrad computer 
users ought to know about then drop me 
a line. 1 can't deal with individual problems 
and this isn't really the place for programming 
tuition but it is the place for bouquets and brickbats, 
views and opinions. Write to me at the address in 
the front of the magazine or on Telecom Gold 
System 72:mag012. Remember that some 
writers will be sent free software, so let 
me know which computer 
you have. 


1 AM writing to ascertain the algorithm 
behind the random number generator 
R IV 1 1 in the CPC 664. The generation of 
statistically sound series of random 
numbers is by no means as simple as it 
might appear, and any serious user is 
reluctant to trust a generator whose 
algorithm he doesn't know. 

IT you are unable to answer my 
query, perhaps you could ask the 
appropriate rom manufacturer. I am 
certain that 1 am not the first to seek 
detailed information on the Amstrad 
END algorithm. 

Even an indication of the type of 
generator would he helpful - is it a shift 
register generator, a linear congruen- 
tial generator, an additive/subtractive 
generator, or what? 

J.W.S. Allan, 
Isle of Man 

LD: Thanks to Vik and Cliff for the 
answer to this one , The random 
n umber gen era tor starts with the seed, 
adds 1, multiplies by 75 (this is a fiddle 
factor) f divides by 65537 and then uses 
the remainder - L 

Finger fixes fault 

I SEE some users were having prob¬ 
lems loading their software. I did too, 
but found a way of overcoming those 
problems. If you press very hard on the 
lid of the cassette deck white loading 
there is a better chance of the program 
loading properly (at least on my micro). 
It may sound stupid, but it works. 

1 have a major problem of my own. 
After weeks of trying, I still haven't 
been able to obtain the great game 
Enduro Racer, None of the advertisers 
in your excellent magazine had it. 
Where can I get it (cheap)? 

It is very hard owning a CPC 464 


here in Norway. There are Commodore 
owners sneaking around everywhere, 
longing, to use their axe on my micro. 

The guy down town at the local com¬ 
puter shop doesn't like the Amstrad so 
he doesn't care if his amount of soft¬ 
ware for this wonderful machine is less 
then the amount of braincells in his 
head - he isn't too bright. 

Please help me (and the relatively 
few other Norwegians who have been 
bright enough to buy an Amstrad). 

Lars Gundersen, 
Dram men, Norway 
LD: R seems wrong to pick out one 
shop in favour of another, but my heat 
dealer always seems to have a good 
stock of Amstrad titles and will happily 
do mail order to Norway . There may t>e 
a postage charge . 

You can call Adams World on 01-446 
2241. 


Family fortunes 

WITH reference to letters from David 
Turner and Mr/Mrs Rowden I have 
found no suitable software that can 
handle the individual style of genealo¬ 
gists' files or lists. 

Being the ow r ner of the humble (but 


to- my mind excellent) CPC 464 since 
Christmas this year, I have made my 
own program. 

With the help of a tew friends and a 
couple of calls to Amstrad I found this 
easily achievable. 

Anyone wishing to see the programs 
should send two blank Cl5 cassettes to 
my address, and 1 will return the pro¬ 
grams to them. 

This leads me on to my problem, that 
the two programs if merged equal 
about 55k I would find the CPC 664 or 
6128 a better machine to run. 

Where can 1 find this machine 
without monitor and software at a 
more reasonable price than that adver¬ 
tised in mail order catalogues? 

It could be suggested that I buy a disc 
drive for my Arnold, but l would prefer 
to remain with standard machines and 
stay compatible with other users of 
standard machines. 

All in all, I still recommend the CPC 
464 to all genealogists with some pro¬ 
gramming ability. 

Bryan Hobson, 
20 Hey sham Park, 
Hevsham, 
Morecambe, 
Lancs LA3 21JD 
LD: What a wonderful offer. 1 suggest 


Random reply 


Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 11 






























that anyone who takes Bryan up On 
this also encloses a stomped addressed 
en vebpe . 


If 


Tree mistakes 

YOUR map of Feud has brought to 
tight a serious bug. In my version the 
whole" of the map is upside down. 
They’ve even tried to hide this by 
making the huts and trees the right 
way up. 

Either that or the trees and huts on 
your map are the wrong way up. No - 
er - couldn’t be, could it? 

Adam Thirlwell, 
Somerset 

LD: OK guilty , slap on the ‘cuffs, con¬ 
demn us to playing Amsoft games for a 
week. We got it upside down. Fve sent 
you a copy of Leviathan to persuade 
you to keep quiet 

Caught in a Vortex 

HAVING owned a Vortex Ram Expan¬ 
sion since February 1986 1 know that it 
is an excellent product with great 


No fight flight 


fcw, 


potential. But there have been a 
number of problems when using the 
board with other hardware add-ons and 
with commercial software. 

By far the biggest problem that I 
have found is understanding exactly 
how to make best use of the board’s 
many features and commands. 

If you too are a frustrated expan¬ 
sionist I suggest that we get in touch 
and form a self-help group. If you have 
modified commercial programs to run 
under BOS, experienced or preferably 
solved a hardware or software problem, 
or perhaps written a 200k program, 
please write. 

In case you had not heard, Vortex 
has brought out BOS version 2,1, which 
apparently incorporates many 
improvements - mine is on order now. 

Interested in the details? Write with 
your thoughts on a user group and 
please enclose a stamped addressed 
envelopeE For I8p we can start to make 
use of all that extra memory, 

Chris Peel, 
30 Dale View Road, 
Long Lee, 
Keighley, 
W. Yorks, 
BD21 4YR 


Junior programmer 

I AM 12 years old and have been using 
the Amstrad CPC 464 ever since my 
Dad got one, wav back in Christmas 
L 94. I have mastered Basic and am well 
up in machine code. 

In the July 1986 issue of your maga¬ 
zine you mentioned Logan and 
O’Hara’s Complete Spectrum Rom Dis¬ 
assembly’ (published by Melbourne 
House). I was wandering if there was a 
similar book for the Amstrad CPC 464? 

in arcade-type games for the 


AS a new owner of an Amstrad 6128 1 
am looking forward to the day I can buy 
a good flight simulator. 

1 don’t need the ability to zap the 
enemy or bomb churches as in Spitfire 
40 and Deep Strike, i just want a 
cockpit simulation (visible ALL the 
time) and a cockpit view with a real feel 
of flying, The best I have used so far is 
the Acorn soft Aviator on a BBC Micro. 

Surely someone can produce 
something similar or even better with 
the extra k available on the Amstrad. 

1 have ordered the Harrier which I 
believe will have some of the features I 
am looking for, but not the ability to 
find and line up with a runway. 

The ability to print out details of the 
flight afterwards would also be useful. 

If somebody is already attempting 
this can I persuade him to use all the 
available memory on realism and feel- 
rather than gimmickry, 

1 know youngsters like to shoot down 
enemies and aliens, but there must be a 
few mature owners like myself who are 
past that sort of thing. 

Incidentally, my children w T ere abso- 
lutely hooked on Aviator once they got 
over the difficulty of keeping it 
airborne, and deserted their other 
arcade games for Aviator which gave 
them a sense of achievement. 

A D Lynch, 
Douglas, Isle of Man 


LD; This sounds like a problem of 
demand and supply Many more people 
would rather zap green ws or chop ofl 
heads than go for a quiet session in a 
light aeroplane , 

Geoff Crammond, who wrote 
Aviator, couldn't be persuaded to con¬ 
vert his better known game Revs for 
the Amstrad although he did start. In 
fact Sentinel is his only game to have 
made it our way. 

Anyway, even Aviator has a shooting 
aliens scenario. 


Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 12 


















Link your Amstrad CPC to the outside world with 

fflkrolnk 



Electronic mail - The cheapest 
and fastest form of 
communication possible, It costs 
the same to send a message to 
one mailbox as to 500! 

Telex - Link up with 96,000 telex 
subscribers «n the UK and 1.5 
million worldwide. You can even 
send and receive telexes after 
office hours or while travailing. 

TelemessBges - Type in your 
message before flpm and 
delivery is guaranteed by first 
post the next day (except Sunday), 
anywhere in the UK and USA, 

Tide-booking - Reserve train and 
theatre tickets, check flight details 
worldwide, or order from a vast 
range of products - from flowers 
to floppy discs. 

Advice - Call on a team of 
professional legal and financial 
advisors as and when you need 
them, for both business and 
personal problems. 

Company search^ - Obtain facts 
about any British limited 
company in seconds, and fully 
analysed financial information on 
over 100,000 major companies, 

Typesetting - Send copy from 
your word processor together 
with details of type size and style, 
and youTI receive pages ready 
for printing within ?4 hours. 

News - Use the powerful searcf 
commands to pinpoint vital 
business information from the 
world's leading news services, 
newspapers and periodicals 

Radiopaging - if you also have a 
pocket radi-opager you'll be 
alerted each time an urgent 
message arrives in your mailbox. 
So you're always in touch. 

Gateways - Get through to New 
York in just five seconds - or key 
into the EEC computer in 
Luxembourg, which links you to 
600 databases throughout Europe, 


When you join MicroLink you've got 
the whole business world at your 
fingertips - 24 hours a day. YouTI 
have immediate access to ALL the 
facilities offered by Telecom Gold 
... and a great deal more besides. 



Typical comma packages 

A 

dr kit: Acoustic V23 modem -h 
RS232 interface £ tape or disc 
comms software {£36.40} 

B 

KDS: Minimax V21. V23 
autodial modem t RS232 
interface + comms rom {£39} 

C 

Pace: Nightingale V27, V23 
manual diet modem + RS232 
interface t Comm star rom 
(£7 53} 

D 

Pace: Linnet V27, V23 autodial 
modem + RS232 interface £ 
Commstar rom {£2 73} 


All you need - apart from your Amstrad - is a 
modern, which plugs into your telephone wall 
socket, an RS232 interface and suitable 
communications software. 

We have provided a list of possible combin¬ 
ations 1 left), ranging from the very cheapest to 
ones which can automatically dial the Micro- 
Link telephone number and connect you 
directly to the service - all you have to do Is 
type in your personal security password. 

Whichever equipment you use, you will be 
able to cat! MicroLink, open your mailbox, 
save to disc any messages waiting for you, 
and disconnect in as little as two minutes. 



More than 
90 per cent 
of subscribers 
can connect to 
the MicroLink 
computer at 
local call 
rates. 



r r 


i 


i 


i 


i 

| 



1 

i 

i 




TO FHMD- OUT MORE 
Fill in the coupon and 
send it to the address 
below. You will revive 
Full details of services 
and costs, together with 
an application Form 
Complete this and 
within days you and 
your Amstrad will be 
able to list: till the 
services of Micro-Link 
and Telecom Gold. 


I 


Please send me full details about MJcroLmk. and information 
sheers about the following hardware and software options 
I pi ease circle): 

A B C D 

Name._____ 


Address. 


Postcode. 


Send to.. MicroLink, Europe House, 6B Chester Road, 
Hazel Grove. Stockport SK7 5NY. 


ACU9 




































































































Amstrad, when a sprite moves over 
background, it moves away again and 
the background remains unchanged. 

I know you can achieve this using 
XOR, but if you use it, your sprite has a 
fit of technicolouritis, so how do you do 
it without using XOR? 

Jeremy Longley, 
Tonbridge, Kent 
LD: I'd recommend two books . The 
first, is The Complete Firmware Specifi¬ 
cation SOFT 968 from Amsoft (contact 
them on 091-567 3395), and the other is 
an Amstrad Entry Point Guide from 
Melbourne House , f They are on 01-377 
68801 

There are two ways round the XOR 
problem. The professional way to put a 
sprite on the screen is to store wha t was 
there before, plonk the rtew sprite on 
top. and then replace the missing bits 
from your store. This is known as cre¬ 
ating a mask. 

You have to time things with the 
VSYNC, or else the result flickers. 

The sneaky way around the problem 
is to set the colours up in the palette so 
that the colours which show through as 
a result of the XOR are the same as 
those in the sprite. 

This drastically cuts down the 
colours you can use r and is only useful 
in Mode 0, but it is jolly quick. 

i ha ve sent you a copy of BMX Simu¬ 
la tor so you can see how the profes¬ 
sionals produce convincing sprites. 

The price is right 

I AM always on the lookout, for good 
games, but like many more Amstrad 
users I can’t understand w r hy a big 
chain like W.H.Smith sells games for a 
higher price than smaller independent 
shops. 

Surely people are going to catch on, 
and then Smiths will be out of business. 

Grant Pierce, 
Cranleigh, Surrey 

LD: Most people buy games in the big 
chain stores. So when you pop into 
Smiths for your copy of ACU, you 
might also buy a copy of Pig Breeders 
Gazette, a pack of 65 felt tips which dry 
up if you leave the top off for 20 min¬ 
utes, Sheena Easton Sings, the Beatles 
on CD. a bar of Yorkie or the latest 
Imagine game converted from the Taito 
original by Probe and sold through 
Ocean. 

To compete ;, the independent, shops 
need to offer a better deal After all who 
could resist Sheena Easton? 

This may take the form of lower 
prices or a wider selection. In a free 
market economy we ha ve a choice and 
the shops can charge what they like. 
WHS must know what it is doing or it 
wouldn r t be so big. 

Page 14 


Dan nah, nan nah, nan 

nah, VATMAN 

I ALWAYS wonder why the many 
pocket, size calculators will give an in¬ 
stant answer on that dreaded word 
VAT, 

Why is it that the Amstrad computer 
does most things but when it comes to, 
dare T say it again, VAT the keyboard 
has no key for percentages. 

Can you please give me the reason, 
and is there an easy way to program 
percentages in Basic into a program, 
total + VAT, without breaking any 
copyright, and why it is not mentioned 
in the mags and manuals? 

This VAT thing looks as if it is going 
to be in much demand and I need this to 
update a program which deals with 
certain utilities w r hich does not. include 
VAT 

I’m a nice person so I w r ould not 
downgrade the Amstrad, it’s reai value 
for money, schools could have twice as 
many computers if they used those 
much dearer computers to work it out, 
wouldn’t you agree? 

Roy Evans, 
South Glamorgan 
LD: Adding VAT is a simple matter of 
working out a percentage. So to add 15 
per cent to a price just multiply by 1.15. 
This proglet should do it: 

IB INPUT 'Sum without VAT 1 ;price 
20 PRINT 'Price with VAT at 15*-- 
L '; pri ce+1.15 


Simple really. 

No bug in Protext 

I NOTE Dr Stadler’s letter in the July 
ACU: 1 use Protext V.L22 in rom on my 
6128, and there is nothing wrong with 
the >OC command. 


The only bug I have found is in the 
background printing routine, using 
single sheets {this uses Promerge rom). 
When a page is complete it sends a 
message to the screen and stops oper¬ 
ations, so you can feed the printer and 
then continue with a keystroke. 

It is not a safe procedure, and fre¬ 
quently corrupts the keyboard input 
buffer (they tell me) making control of 
the program impossible (strange 
effects, notie of them useful). 

Amor has been, as usual, terrific; 
providing a short program to reset the 
buffer and continue. 

But there doesn't seem to be any way 
round the bug itself Using continuous 
paper,, there are no problems, 

Arnor’s support is superb, but the 
company is bad at answering letters. 
Clearly it operates a telephone culture. 

Once, when I had trouble corunning 
another program (the set-up for the 
KDS 8 bit printer interface which uses 
the same area of memory as Promerge) 
it diagnosed the problem over the 
phone, and within a few hours called 
me back and dictated a new set-up pro¬ 
gram, which worked first pop, 

Finally, 1 have tried Pretext CP/M on 
the CPC with two disc drives, and it’s 
not worth it. Without the M: drive of 
the PCW. it is grindingly slow, 

The only reason for using it would be 
to handle files larger than 85k (the 
practical limit with FrotextPromerge 
rom). Even then, it w T ould need a silicon 
disc, or a hard disc, to work, 

Peter Ceresole, 
London 

LD: We expect to have some more 
details on using the OC command next 
month and f it is good to see that plenty 
of people still take CPUs seriously , If 
you have any problems with a software 
application please write in. 

Amstrad User September 1987 
















This means YOU! 

Imagine a program listing. A listing for an amazing action game, 
about 3k or 4k long, Mostly it is written in Basic but it might have a 
few machine code routines to do some of the things that need 
speed, It works on the 464 (with or without disc drive), 664 and 
6138 It might run (using Mallard Basic) on the PCW8256. Did I hear 
you say you have one right here in your pocket? I did? Hand it 
over, We want to prim it! 

Yes, that's right we want lots of shortish programs for our 
readers to type in, They don't have to be games - we just have a 
preference for them. They can be anything that we find inter¬ 
esting, The things we don't find interesting are biorythm programs, 
pools predictors, simple databases, or anything to do with 
quadratic equations - unless they are written in one line, cello- 
taped to half a million quid or draw a pretty picture on the screen, 

There are a few golden rules for submitting programs Remem¬ 
ber that you axe writing a program for publication Make your 
program easy to debug, Don't include unlistable characters in the 
program, Document start addresses and length of code when 
using machine code, Send the program on tape or cassette and 
include a SAE if you want it back, If you think the program does 
something particularly clever, write an explanation of the routine 
that does It. Don't include commands that work only on one par¬ 
ticular machine. 

Now you know what to do, get cracking; Send off your program 
today to 

Liz Ting 

Amstrad Computer User 
169 Kings Road 
Brentwood CM 14 4EF 


48 HOUR 
REPAIRS 

FOR CPC AND PCW 

PHONE 

091 -520 1437 



ALSAN 

TECHNICAL 



Reach the 
top with . .. 


"7 1 


Educational Software 


A ms! rad (CPC.PCW, PC) (DIsc/tapBS) * BEST HEYlEWS * 

Electron, BBC (tape/disc) AS 

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COMPLETE SELF-TUITION GC5E/GGE COURSES 

(Each eontains.24 programs) 

£5 off total for 2, £10 oil total for 3, 

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MICRO MATHS (CPC, PCW, PC) 

Course talking beginners {from age & yrs) 
to 0- Uvet/GCSE. 24 programs on 59 
topics on 2 + 2 books £24 

PRIMARY MATOS COURSE (CPC) 
Course taking beginners (from 5 years) to 
secondary school entrance in 35 
programs divided into 13 lessons/tests. 

All animated graphics 2 discsAapas £24 
MICRO ENGLISH (CPC, PCW) 
jj, - j£ _ Course taking beginners to English 

^ -> IMMEDIATE ^ LanguageGGSE, Incorporates real 

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V'V-* MEGA MATHS (CPC) 

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Covers 105 topics oh 2 tapes/dtsc + 
books £24 

Send ooupo rt or phone orders or requests tor true colou r catalog u e to: 
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Henley, Oxfordshire RG9 1UG 



Tel: 0491 579345 {10am-10pm) 


Name _ 
Address 


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Computer- 


Disc,'tope 


Anns trad User September 1987 


Page 15 











































fr 


GARWOOD SOFTWARE 

© Chelmsford TQ245J 460783 {l (inesj Telex: 99468 GARWD G 
Freepost: Garwood fWholesaleJ Ltd, Freepost, BRENTWOOD, Essex, CM15 OBR 
FREE 24 Paee Colour Catalogue includes software for IBM PC 8c Compatible machines 




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FINANCIAL MODELLING: 

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WORD PROCESSING: 

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SPECIAL: 

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GRAFHlCS: 

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ACCOUNTS/PAVROLL: 

CAMSOFT .'from £49 95| 

MAP. [from £49.001 
SAGE (from £69.99;. 

TRAINING: 

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CARD BOX £59.99 

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cl BASE !J £99.95 

SAGE RETRIEVE OR MAGIC FILER £69.99 



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To order please use the form on Page 71 





















































Infocom is recognised as one of the premier 
producers of adventures and deserves high praise for 
giving us a regular diet of new and frustrating 
games to tax the cleverest grey cells. Its latest baf¬ 
fling problem setter is Bureaucracy, written by 
Douglas Adams, better known for his best selling 
book (and computer game)' The Hitchhiker’s Guide 
to the Galaxy, 

Most of Infocom’s games are far from easy and 
this, together with excellent textual descriptions, 
adds to their attraction. Many have you banging 
your head against the wall, desperately trying to 
think of another way to tackle its zany puzzles. Of all 
the games 1 have played T Bureaucracy is the most 
painful. 

The underlying principle of the game is based on 
the understanding that: “whtat can go wrong, will go 
wrong”. The particular emphasis in this case is 
society’s growing dependence on computers and the 
ever present paperwork that feeds them. Forms for 
this and that, forms that contradict themselves and 
penalise logical thought. Forms that create red tape 
that is beginning to choke the system that is the 
heart of modern bureaucracy. 

You play an upwardly mobile young whizz who 
has just changed jobs. Your previous employment, in 
software development was with the Deep Thought 
Corporation of America, now you are just about to 
start with the Happitec Corporation. The company 

Page 18 


has on the surface what appears to be an excellent 
method of ensuring a good start for new employees - 
a combined training seminar and holiday at its inter¬ 
national headquarters in Paris. You would think 
everything in your world was smelling of roses, 
Unfortunately fate, and the bureaucratic process, is 
just about to catch up. 

Moving to a new house, you have of course, 
informed all those who need to know your change of 
address. For starters, the bank’s computer did not 
approve of the form you used and was unable to 
make the necessary changes, Realising that 
something has gone wrong the bank has sent a 
replacement form, together with a new cheque book 
and credit card. But where have they sent this vital 
package, you’ve guessed it - to your old address. 

This is the first of many catastrophes that are 
about, to arrive almost literally on your doorstep. The 
computer used by the removal firm has also had a 
minor seizure, so you have no furniture. This will be 
put right in two weeks and you are not really wor¬ 
ried t as you will be away in Paris while it is sorted 
out. 

Part of Happitec’s welcome package is a cheque for 
$75, so wdien this arrives, solving the bank problem 
is not vital. On the other hand, today you travel to 
Paris, and the cheque has not yet arrived.,. 

There are several options. You could try to go back 
to your old address to collect the missing mail There 

Ametrad User September 1987 


































adventures"! 


are also plenty of hints that mail deliveries are not 
arriving at their correct destinations. Perhaps you 
should ask around the neighbourhood. Then again 
you could try to make a few quick bucks some other 
way. 

The neighbours are a strange lot. They include a 
paranoid gun-toter who lives in a camouflaged and 
fortified house just dowm the road, an elderly matron 
with a schizoid parrot and a loaded elephant gun, 
and a llama farm complete with one potentially hos¬ 
tile llama. 

The rest of the street is almost normal with a mad 
stamp collector, the local branch of your bank, a 
travel agency, a bookstore and a small but very 
annoying cafe. 

Somehow you have got to find some readies, collect 
vour ticket from the agency and get a cab to the 
airport before your plane leaves. Scoring is judged on 
your blood pressure, each setback pumping it up a 
few more points - too high and something bursts. 
There arc several other ways to come to a sticky end, 
so do not expect a quiet, peaceful weekend when you 
start, playing Bureaucracy! 

1 am in two minds about this game. It certainly 
comes up to Infocom's normal high standards of pres¬ 
entation and programming. The text is good and the 
puzzles are devious. But, at the end of the day I like 
to be frustrated by my inability to solve the problems 
and not by programmed-in frustration. 

Two early examples of this are when you visit the 
bank and the local cafe. At the bank there are a 
number of tellers. Needless to say you get no joy out 
of them as they insist on playing dumb as far as your 
problem is concerned. Personally l wmutd just 
demand to see the manager but this is not permitted. 
In the cafe, after refusing to order a drink the 
waitress insists on you telling her what drink you 
wouldn’t order. Ordering a simple meal becomes long 
winded and an absolute chore. 

Worse still the order is lost and you have to go 
through the whole performance again. This sort of 
situation is aggravated by InfoconTs superb parser 
requiring nearly all words to be typed in full. 

I have said before, I am lazy, a slow T typist, and I 
feel too much importance on long-winded entries 
destroys the pace and atmosphere of an adventure. 
Bureaucracy is a brilliant take off of what is hap¬ 
pening all around us -- but be prepared to be highly 
frustrated. In common with all other Infocom games, 
Bureaucracy is available in CP/M format for 
Amstrad 3in disc drives and on a 5Win disc for the 
FC1512. 

Golden oldie 

Years ago Incentive Software produced a trilogy of 
text only adventures for the Spectrum that received 
good reviews and w ere full of classic puzzles. Conver¬ 
sion to the Commodore 64 followed but we have had 
to wait, a long time for an Amstrad version. Moun¬ 
tains of Ket is the first of the three and now comes 
complete with graphics (thanks to GAC), To make 
the deal even better it comes together with a brand 
new adventure, Top Secret, under Incentive's 
Double Gold label Cassette versions only, for the 
Amstrad CPCs, 

Amstrad User September 1987 


You are a condemned murderer (you were 
framed), taking the option of saving your life by 
accepting a quest to destroy the leaders of the evil 
forces invading your country. 

The elders have decreed that to ensure your loy¬ 
alty you will have a magic assassin bug attached to 
your neck. The bug's name is Edgar and he will 
ensure your continued pursuit of the quest and also 
give all help he can. 

In this first part, your task is to get to Lhe other 
side of the Mountains of Ket, The destruction of 
Delphia and Vran Verusbel the evil leaders comes in 
the next two parts. You start on the outskirts of a 



village to the west, of the mountains and must um 
your wits to find the necessary items to find the 
hidden cave entrance. 

Once you enter the cave system, there is no 
turning back and you will learn there is plenty to 
find. Treasure is there for the picking - but remem¬ 
ber that this is not your mam purpose. It increases 
your score but there are other things you will need to 
reach your final destination. Several items could be 
worn but although they do not appear to fit — fear 
not, their benefit is still there if you have them with 
you. 

One possible criticism is the combat system. You 
will need to fight various creatures. Trading blows 
with them could sap your energy and even kill you. 
It is wise to save your game position fairly regularly 
to resurrect yourself if the need arises. There is one 
time when you have to take part in a little gambling 
- the outcome is random, but is determined by the 
number of moves you have made. If at first you fail, 
go away and come back later. 

The puzzles are fairly logical and the game Is quite 
addictive, it should be a good starter for newcomers 
and old hands wilt welcome its revival in a new 
guise. The other two parts will be produced if this 
version goes down well with you the adventurer. 
Each is complete in itself but it would be nice to have 
the full set for the Amstrad. 

Topical twists 

We have had a lot of fuss.recently over what should 
or should not be kept secret from the public. Playing 
Incentive's Top Secret may give you an insight into 
what some investigative journalists get up to. 

Written using their own Graphic Adventure Cre¬ 
ator, Top Secret puts you in the role of a newspaper 

Page 19 











ADVENTURES 


1 


■ • 


: : : : ■ : : 
::::: ::::: 

. .. 


:: :::: ::: 


888 & 


................. 

:::: :•••. 

=.; : 

-----— %pa&>Mcc0»:tcco>x«t>y.-::imyjii m 






reporter who given an inside tip on a Government 
leak, is determined to scoop the world. 

There is talk of a new type of missile which is hotly 
denied by official circles, Peter Jones of The Daily 
Mercury (you), gets a call from the ‘mole 1 that 
started all the rumours; together with the location of 
the secret complex and some hints on how to get 
inside - the rest is up to you. 

As the establishment is highly undercover, there 
are no obvious outward signs of security other than 
the obligatory fences. You will soon find an entrance 
to an old sewer system that puts you within spitting 
distance of your first objective. Of course you will 
have to find some way of distracting the dogs and 
a safe way to scale the barbed wire, but for a 
resourceful man that should prove no problem. 

Once inside the last fence, there is a more obvious 
military presence. Avoid them, bottomless bogs and 
rabbit holes and you may well think you are on the 
right track. But do not get too overconfident, there is 



Page 20 


plenty to occupy you. The puzzles are logical, even 
obvious, but the game will keep you on your toes to 
the end. The general atmosphere is good even if 
guards never seem to see you unless you blunder 
into them. Perhaps you were a dandy Boy Scout, 

The parser is the standard GAC system that we 
have come to expect, fairly basic, which occasionally 
calls for a more complex input. Many objects that 
you can use are there for the taking, but there are 
also a sprinkling that will only appear w T hen you 
examine things more closely. This program also has 
an annoying tendency to inform you that “you see 
something”, that you then have to LOOK to see 
what it is that has been found. A minor point but one 
that always strikes me as illogical not to mention 
time wasting. 

Incentive’s Double Gold labels look as though they 
may be well worth looking out for in the future. 
Mountains of Ket and Top Secret offer good value - 
give them a try. There is already a second Double 
Gold offering: Black Fountain and Sharpe’s Deeds 
but more about them next month. 

Down in the jungle 

Something stirred. You have been a prisoner of war 
for 14 months now and a slight fever has laid you low 
for a few T days. The camp is almost deserted, the 
other POWs are out on work details and the 
remaining guards are very easygoing. They believe 
that with the jungle the camp is escape proof. Now is 
your chance, a quick shufty around to find anything 
that may be useful and you’re off. 

Escape from Kboshima by Atlantis Software gives 
you the chance to put yourself in the shoes of this 
lone British escapee. At only £1.99, you can sweat it 
out in the Burmese jungle and see if you can pull off 
the impossible. Like so many of today’s cheaper 
adventure games it utilises GAC and will provide 
quite a few hours of search and trauma to while 
away those wet summer evenings. 

The plot is straightforward with no real surprises 
and the puzzles are on the whole unremarkable. 
Like any adventure game, it is unlikely that you will 
solve everything at one sitting, so it has to be reason¬ 
able value for money. 

What is more, for those that are not all that used 
to solving mazes - it will provide plenty of practice. 
Once outside the prison compound you enter a selec¬ 
tion of interlinked mazes. With some 25 identical 



Amstrad User September 1987 

















































adventures"! 



locations, you will have to use care to map them 
thoroughly. 

Fortunately even highly edible items do not get 
eaten up by the local fauna (.although you may), so 
the old dodge of dropping various objects to help you 
map mazes works up to a point. Patience, a sharp 
pencil and mind should see you through - just watch 
out for those Japanese dogs, their bite is fatal. 

Return to Kerovnia 

To follow The Pawn, Magnetic Scrolls will have to 


pull out all the stops. The follow up is now available 
for inspection: The Guild of Thieves. Available for 
the PCW already, CPC and PC 1512 owners will 
have to wait for their version a little longer. As with 
all the high quality adventures that Rainbird dis¬ 
tributes, none of these are going to be cheap. Pack¬ 
aging is as always excellent and instead of the 
novella found with The Pawn, this time you get a 
copy of What Burglar magazine. This includes gen¬ 
eral playing hints together with encoded clues to 
help the lost and despondent. 

The action again takes place in Kerovnia, but this 
time you play the part of an up and coming thief. To 
show your worth and rise within the Guild, you will 
have to pull off some pretty amazing stunts. May the 
long arm of the law never reach out for you. Just 
watch out you do not become too addicted - to the 
game that is.,. 



RATINGS 




Mountains 
of Ket 

Top 

Secret 

Escape 

from 

Hiroshima 

Bureau' 

cracy 

Plot 

63 

63 

57 

70 

Atmosphere 

65 

65 

55 

75 

Addiction 

73 

69 

65 

75 

Difficulty 

60 

60 

56 

80 

Overall 

67 

66 

59 

73 


ACU 











Am s trad owners can now 
liansfer any program to disc or 
tape at tike touch of a button. 64 K in just 
14 secs, from disk. The New MK111 is much 
faster loading with unbelievable compression 
using less space on your disk. Undoubtedly the best 
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the Amstrad Users Club. Don t settle for less. 


Please slate your 


Amslrad No. 


CPC464, CFC664 


□i CPC6128 



In case of difficulty order directly from. 
Mirage Microcomputers Ltd, 

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Tel: Braintree (0376) 43321 
Telex No. 937400 Ref, 28238001 


Available from good retailers everywhere 

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Existing Mirage Imager Owners 
Update your model far just £5.95. 




Amstrad User September 19S7 


Page 21 



















































. j|r "Without a doubt Siren hm produced morrw of the bwt dike utiMot 

#Wf «Mn on the Amstrad rang* of computer*". Amtiir Jrawry 1967 

DISCOVERY PLUS 

THE TAPE TO DISC TRANSFER PROGRAM 

Discovery Plus is (he best selling tape to disc transfer program that is 
currently available for your Amstrad CPC. Guaranteed to Iransfer more 
games than any other program, (The first person who can find a more 
successful program will receive twice his money back), Discovery Plus 
will transfer die vast majority of Amstrad programs from tape to disc, 

"Discovery Plus must be the most advanced & probably most efficient 
transfer utility to date" Amstrad Action 1986. 

Discovery Plus will transfer thousands of programs, but we include full 
instructions on how to transfer over 1 SO top games 

Available on disc ONLY £14.33 for die 464,664 6123 

NEW PRINT MASTER NEW 

The printer enhancement package that no printer owner should ce without. This 
urtiq ue suite of programs will allow you to make the most of your DMP20QQ or 

Epson compatible printer, 

* Print out your wordprooessor files using 20 terrific fonts and 3 print sizes 

* Su perb large f 6 shade screen dunp _ _ ^ 

* Amazing black A white dump of any mode come tndw&iM 

*Ullra fast character dump *t Stund Bzs ai the 

* Font designer ailows you design S alter fonts ***** Show 

* Large poster printing can also be achieved- 

This exceptionally easy to use program will produce amaz ing resul ts . 

Thi s spectacular program is available on disc only £ 14.99.464/664/6123 

This program requires the use of quad density graphics printing on your printer. 

Please consul t your printer manual or phone us. 

TAPE UTILITY 

This extraordinary program allows you to make back up copies of most 
of your tape based software and load them back at 4 times the normal 
speed. So easy to use, this program removes protection as it copies! 

Wri tten speda lly for the 464 , this is not a Spectru m conversion . 

Available on tape ONLY £8.99.464 ONLY 

NEW SOUNDBLASTER NEW 

THE STEREO SOUND AMPLIFIER 

This terrific piece of hardware allows you to play your games with the 
luxury of stereo sound. This system adds a new dimension to games with 

HiFi quality sound effects and tunes. The soundbla&ter comes complete 
with 2 top quality 20 watt speakers (each containing a 3" Woofer, ^mid- 
range & a Tweeter). Twin volume controls allow you to adjust both 
volume and balance. 

AVAILABLE NOW ONLY £29 99, CPC 464/664/8128 

FREE STEREO HEADPHONES WITH ALL ORDERS 

NEW CHERRY PAINT NEW 

This impressive program allows you to draw pictures/diagrams etc on a 
resolution of 640x200 pixels. Full features include pull down windows 
etc. Compatible with keyboard, joystick. & AMX Mouse. See Amstrad 

Action May 1987 for lull re view. Unbelievable value atonly £9.99 on 
disc 464/664/61 £8. 

JMpBB All prices incl ude Postage and VAT, Overseas orders please add El ,00 per program for Postage, PI ease send all Cheques/Postal orders to: 

mSmm siren software 2-4 oxford road, Manchester mi &qa. th.: 061-2201001 ^ 


Typesetting 


For the first time a major suite of Typesetting software is 
available to the Amstrad user. 

AMSET £199.98 + VAT 
PC SET £249.00 + VAT 

For Amstrad PCW's, PCI 512 & other IBM compatibles. 


PROFESSIONAL TYPESETTING 


Package includes H &J, kerning, indents, multicolumn r 
depth count, character count, rates. 


20 FOUNTS 


From 4V?-72 point. Digital setting on Li natron 202N. 


QUALITY 


Typeshare — The nation's biggest bureau service , 


TUTORIAL 


Comprehensive manual & friendly help line. 


EXPANSION 


Error free comms. Counting Ad. Pack. 
Advanced typography, 1000 founts available , 


TRIAL OFFER 


AMSET£40.00. PC SET£50.00 + VAT lor trial pack. 
Phone lor brochure. 


Typ eshare 

Jypeshaw Lid Alan House. 55 59 Saffron Hill. Halloo Gartfei?. 
tendon EC1N SOX. 91 405 7937. 



(he price induct a dekiw lunch and 
refreshments. 

BOOKNOW 

The training courses which are running now 
are just one more example of our 
outstanding aftersales service [an Advanced 
Amstnd User course is also following 
shortly). 

Vted like to advise you that space e 
limited. So why not -wkJ the rrsk of 
disappoirtlmeni and phone Miss Katherine 
Edge right new on 0782 610011 {ext. 208) to 
book your places [or for further deta/ls). 


hen it comes to making the most 
y you- Amsy.ic Wordiirosessors 
who else wuud jflu turn to for guidance 
than Amstnd themself Clea/ly wt're the 
undisputed experts on our paxtucts - and on 
passmg on their benefits to you. 

NEW TRAINING COURSES 

Our new one day train mg sessions have been 
denned to give vou the most comprehensive 
knowledge of your tomperter and how to get 
the most out of it. Urwike many other courses, 
■we insist on no more than eight pertaining 
group. And every participant is g,ven his or 
her own Amstrad Computer to work from. 

REAL VALUE FOR HONEY 

A full one-day 'raining course it Our 
convenient Newcastle; under-Lyme framing 
Centre costs just 779 [including VAT). And 


Aiwiitr*d DiftribatiMi Ltd 

PO Box 299, Newcarje, Stiffs. STS 7QS. 


Now you can get 
your training 
direct from Amstrad 


■ 

. 

1 1 

k 

• HNMoopo*?* 


• 

■ 

■ . - 

i 



Page 22 


Amstrad User September 1987 











































HACKING | 


* 



DID you know that if 10 monkeys sat 
down at keyboards and typed out Hairy 
Hacker's .articles at 30 words a minute , 
Fd be out of a job ? 

Didn’t think so. Still, here’s where we 
start off this week’s monkey business, 
with letters, This is whore you (the con¬ 
fused) ask the likes of me (knowledge¬ 
able, but still confused) what’s up. 

Mr P. Marshal from Armagh wants 
to know several things, to which the 
answer is very nearly 42, but HI try to 
answer a few. The difference between a 
DMP 3000 and a 2000 is 1000. Also, the 
3000 is IBM and Epson compatible. 
Currently, it is difficult to get hold of 
DMP3000s, the 3160 being a sort of 
replacement. 

There is also a difference of 20 quid, 
and the 2000 has a lead for a CPC while 
a 3000 has a lead for the PC. No, 1 don’t, 
think there will be a 2160, 

Chuckle Egg was covered a while 
back by Stewart Russell, and the 
SYMBOL command really is m the 
manual. 

To fill a big area on a 464, define a 
graphics window and clear it to the 
required colour, It beats drawing lots of 
lines, and you can always trim the 
edges later. 

Nearly finished. Yes, a DDI1 comes 
with CP/M, you can plug a 464 into a 
CTM644 and no, there is no such thing 
as a decent, database; they are all 
horrendous beasts to use, I use 

Amstrad User September 1987 



Monkey 

business 

Is the world safe as Vax and Justin 
have another crack ? 


Micropen on a 464. It is very limited, 
dated, but so simple that I can use it. 

Too much rom to 
swing a cat 

1 could do with a beer after that little 
letter, Aaahh! Now 1 feel up to dealing 
with Steve Switzen of Reading - he 
with the unreadable fancy-font output 
device. 

As near as I can tell Steve, you’ve got 
too many roms m there, which is why 
the Elite hack comes up with £! 0ut. of 
memory” complaints. 

Remove any Si Hi- disc and speech 
roms. Although they are all in rum, 
they also borrow" a bit of ram for- 
scribbling in. All clear now ? Good, Ill 
finish the beer while you unplug the 
roms. 


Now a wee pokette or two from Mr. 
M, J. Lyons (B.A. E.T.CJ of Manches¬ 
ter. He and his small furry creature 
from slightly left of Betelgeuse have 
come up with two proggykins, one for 
Karl’s Treasure, and one for Rinky. 1 
arn’t got those, so 1 haven’t been able to 
test 'em, Anyway, the Karl poke gives 
you up to 75 lives, and looks much like 
this: 


1& OPENOUT r 


20 HHIOHr & A F F 


36 LOAD 'Km\&1000 


46 POKE &64E4,H: This i 

s where the live 

s go,. 


50 CALL S1000 



The binky poke goes on the blink 
when you reach level two and 99999 
points, Mere mortals are evidently not 
supposed to do that sort of thing, and 
the score goes kind of strange looking 

Page 23 










































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The 
truth 
about 

TELEX 


muc» does It cast 

ro rtO &rt T'eteM* d Telex machine. The chea P* st wl 

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-* S2 « «—«- 


F^ge 24 


Amstrad User September 1987 












































































Ah I see. Fun factor overload was 
aborted due to lack of Galletron tape. 
Oh well, see if you have a little more 
luck with infinite lives and shields for 
BUDGIE’S (sik) Zarkon. This is either 
a PA8TEIRI job, or fast forward past 
the first, file and run the routine. Before 
you get. in though, a note from the 
author of the pokette, the one and only 
Justin. 

“This poke was nearly never written 
due to the fact that 1 actually felt guilty 
about poking this game because it 
plays incredibly well, but that's only 
my opinion. As you can see though my 
morals are pretty low so here’s the 
routine: 


Things are moving now, so let's move 
it with an infinite lives and oil for the 
disc version of Gremlin's Thing 
Bounces Back. 

To use just follow on screen instruc¬ 
tion si 


10 diispLay$=’&oubLe -eig'it 1": te*tx =70: t 
ejcty=2l 5: pro^np t 3 
20 FOE i-0 TO 2 
50 MODE UGO&U0 ‘M 
40 di sp Lay£-di sp. g >■ $ - ‘ tdi spiay-S: pro* 
ptx z prcmnpL)t*C: *103 

5@ LOCATE proiipti[,20: & R1NT Press any k 

gy H w , p " 

60 i(HIL£ INKErt=“:lfEND 
70 NEXT 1 
30 END 

99 This is the useful bit 

100 text=P:TAG 

110 FOR text lsttxty-1 ro texty-33 STEP - 
4 

120 ORIGIN texti^resU,tests,639,textl 

, t e k t L+2 

>30 MOVE 3/te^t:PRINT displint;:text=t 
ext *2 

140 NEXT text: 

150 TAGOFF 
H0 RETURN 


HACKING | 


That little lot should all be written on 
one line, as there ain't much room for 
loading Binky. 

Poke problems 

Now then, Richard of Walsall, who 
typed in 12 pokes with a 10 per cent 
success rate, some advice; 

• Saying J ‘It don’t work” isn’t very 
specific. 

9 Sometimes people ship five different 
versions of the same game. It might, not 
work 'cos you have a different version, 

# A brief glance at your spelling shows 
that it might be worth while checking 
what you typed in. 

ft Make sure you aren’t using the disc 
version for tape or vice versa. Silly, I 
know, but some people haven’t been 
told. 

We £ ave yur a letter from Desperate, 
of E tides hall i'Ron Maxwell, any re¬ 
lation?). He is getting scores of over a 
million on his copy of Gauntlet. I don't 
have the skill or the patience for that, 
Anybody else got that happening ? 

Clever letter 
stretching 

Now an offering to the Great God 
Glitch from Tim Ruffle of Spennymoor, 
Co, Durham. It is a double height 
routine with five redeeming features 
(numbered a to e (?)). It doesn’t: 
a) Reset HIMEM, 
bj Redefine any characters, 
c) Use machine code, 
d} Take all week. 

e) Look less comprehensible than a C 
program. 

The routine handies like TAG print¬ 
ing, and does reset your graphics win¬ 
dows, Still, try this and see what you 
think: 


For his devotion to an ultimately 
impressive but ''limited use'' goal, I 
shall award this kind soul: Hack of the 
Month, Many congrats., and give us a 
list of games you want, and specify tape 
or disc. We’ll try to get one of l em for 
you, 

As Count Dracula says, on a similar 
vein, the Ed asked me for a routine that 
rotated colours up a character. This bit 
by Tim, 1 thought, seemed particularly 
suited to a wee hack. Try this one, and 
see if you can make use of it: 


5 MODE 0 

IB di spLayS-Tte Ha ; ry Hatker fl :tem=3fh 
te*ty~380:GOSUB 130 

20 displayS='Hsclcs it again !";textn s 30: 
texty s 300:GO$UB 100 

25 di sp Lay S-'T hanks Tir 3’:textx’100: tex 
ty=200:GQ5IJ8 100 
30 j-1 

40 FOR t=1 TO 9 
50 IU i,G+j) MOO 27 
60 NEXT i 

70 j-(j M > m 27: IF INKEtS-’' THEN 40 
£0 CALL S8BFF:'Make screen legible again 

90 MODE 1iEND 

99 This is tfie useful bit 

100 text=0:text( i 1 1 TAG 

110 FOR textL=texty-1 TO teuty-ft STEP - 
4 

120 ORIGIN tesi.tx,texti, text *,639, text L, 
text L+2 

125 PLOT *1000,-1000,textc:textc=textc* 
1 

130 MOVE 0,text:PRINT di splayS;: 
xt*2 

140 NEXT test l 
150 TAGOFF 
160 RETURN 


With a little modification (left as an 
exercise to the rookie hackers out 
there) these routines can be modified to 
print in any height you like. 

They work by defining a window" one 
tine high, and printing a string in the 
window. The window is then moved 
dow,n, and printed again. If you do this 
eight times, you end up with an awfully 
stretched character. 

My addition simply changes the 
colour (the PLOT -1000,-1000,i) by 
plotting a point of the visible screen in 
the required colour. 6128 owners have 
a special command for that, but then I 
haven't got. a 8128 at the moment. 

Justin Jamboree 

Well, for the Justin section this month, 
here’s the first of a flight of three con¬ 
ventional pokes before we hit you with 
all the heavy stuff (which you will like}. 
Until you read that console yourselves 
with truly infinite lives for Master- 
Tronic's Galletron, PASTE]R1 : 


13 MODE 0 

:OPENOUT ’d";MEMOSf fi3FF 

20 

BORDER 

0;FOR i=0 TO 15:READ a:INK i,4 


:HEKT 

i 

30 

tot-0 


40 

FOR n- 

VU TO *118 

50 

READ at:a5VALfi u *a() 

50 

POKE r 

,a : tot=tot+a 

70 

NEXT r 


ee 

IF t0t<>2368 THEN PRINT'S#IT! tuerts 


an error in the data.':END 

90 

LOAD n 

! code 1.bin", 10000 

100 

LOAD 

T, 11 300 

110 

CALL 

10000 

120 

LOAD 

T,U30 

130 

CALL 

LI 00 

140 

SATA 

00,13,26,12,24,09,18,15 

150 

DATA 

20,01,02,It,04,06,26,06 

160 

DATA 

(3,21,00,04,11,00,02,01 

170 

DATA 

00,9e,ed,a0,3e,18,32,69 

180 

DATA 

ab,af,32,9d,8f,c3,c3,94 

190 

DATA 

4* 


13 

MODE 

1 


20 

t C t “ 0 



30 

FOR r. 

=&&0 TO 8B2 


40 

READ 

ai:a-VALC'S’+a$) 


50 

POKE 

n,s;tot s t&t+a 


60 

NEXT 

n 


70 

IF tot<>4013 THEN PS[NT 

"Oh no tbe dat 


i in 

lines 100-160 if vrong":£ND 

80 

INPUT 

t 

’Enter disc And press enter r ,a 

90 

CALL 

m 


'00 

RATA 

2l,&2,00,CD,D4,eC 

,79,22 

110 

DATA 

64,00,32,66,00,21 

,00,01 

120 

DATA 

5D,55,0E,iUF,6A 

,00,24 

130 

DATA 

24,0C,Df,64,00,21 

,A6,03 

140 

DATA 

22,05,01,C3,00,01 

,AF,32 

150 

DATA 

19,92,C6,18,32,35 

,93, C3 

160 

DATA 

30,88,64,4s 



10 

MODE 

liMEMORT 12345 


20 

tot £ 0 



30 

FOft n 

r S1228 TO S123C 


40 

READ 

aS:a-YAL(T+aS) 


53 

POKE 

n,a;tot=tot+a 


63 

NEXT 

n 


70 

IF tot<>2182 THEN PRINT' 

Ch Dere there 


s an 

error in the data, 

END 

80 

LOAs) 



90 

CALL 

81228 


100 

DATA 

3e,12,32,6f,^,c3, 

03,9a 

lie 

data 

af ,6f ,67,22,b3,60, 

32,b5 

ize 

DATA 

60,cj,30,63,4a 



in protest. That aside, iry it. if you will: 


1 MEMORY &Afl00:QPEN0Urr:«EWmY 41FUHG 
PE 2:INK 0,0;INK 1,0:BORDER 0iLOAP BIN 
KT : LOAD'BINKT 1": POKE SE63D,9:PQ<E ££4 
8A,0:POKE &E4SB,0:POKE &E4&t,0:PGKE &t 
4BD,0;CALL &FC00 


Ainst rad User September 1987 


Page 25 















































Speedlock key 

I bring you bad tidings, fellow hackers. 
There is a ne w form of Speed tack that 
defeats all previous simple loaders. 

I bring you good tidings, fellow hack¬ 
ers, There is a new form of Speedlock 
blaster that supersedes the previous 
simple blasters. 

Seriously, the routine below is 
Justin’s speedlock picker VL1 „ Don't 
ask what happened to VI ,0, UK ? It is a 
pretty sizeable routine, and we're 
gonna be using it a lot from now on 
(until they change the speedloader 
again 


So, save this one off to disc/tape/ 
400Mbyte bubble memory or whatever, 
and tack the code we supply for 
individual games on the end of the 
Speed Lock Infiltrator Poke (SLIP for 
short). Rewind the victim tape, run the 
customised SUP at it, and Robert’s yer 
father's brother. 

Here it is. We’ll publish it again in a 
month or three, but don’t lose it in the 
mean whiles: 

You'll like this, not a lot, but very 
much. The first SLIP poke ever is infin¬ 
ite lives for Ocean's Mario Brothers, 
That's a tape, as are all SLIP proggies 
until further notice, You can remember 


10 

Lock Picker Ver, 1.1 (by Justin 

/ Co 

150 

DATA 

36,2t,ed, 

4b,02,be,06,8a 


pyright ACU) 



160 

DATA 

11,G0,b9, 

c5,la,d5,11,79 

20 

1GDE 1iHEHCRY 12345 



170 

DATA 

03,91,21, 

8a,b9,ae,77,23 

30 

tot z 0:ad-87FF0 



180 

DATA 

Id,20,fa, 

15,20,17,dl ,13 

40 

READ aS:lF attend’ THEN 

GOTO 80 


190 

DATA 

c1,4f,05, 

20,e6,3e,c9,32 

50 

a=VAL(T+at) 



IM 

DATA 

82,b9,c3, 

56, be,21,49 ,ds 

6@ 

?QKE ad,a:tot s tot+a 



210 

DATA 

3e,c3,32, 

f4,37,22,f5,37 

70 

ad-ad+1:G0T0 46 



220 

DATA 

21,ff,ab. 

11,40,00,c3,c1 

30 

HEAD sum 



m 

DATA 

37,21,4b, 

00,36,45,23,23 

90 

If totosun THEN PRINH 

CUTJ You'd 

bet 

m 

DATA 

23,36,99, 

f3,f T,c9,dd,21 


ter check ail the data. 

I END 

* 

250 

DATA 

d9, bb,edf, 

5h,74,be,cd,67 

100 

LOAD T 



260 

DATA 

bb,dd,21. 

76,ae,dtf,6e,00 

110 

CALL 47FF0 



270 

DATA 

dd,66,0T, 

11,78,be,73,23 

120 

DATA f3,21,00,80,11,00 

,be,01 


230 

DATA 

72,(3,03, 

be 

130 

DATA If ,00,ed,b0,c3,35 

,be,4a 


290 

1 



HE 

DATA 21,3b,69,36,1)9,23 

,23,25 



- 




what to do, so get on with it: 

m DATA 83,00,5a,be,af,32,c0,5b 
310 DATA 32,31,6b,c3,80,a2,4a 
320 DAT A 'end 1 ,16306 


I forgot to mention that once you've 
got the SLIP proggy typed in T the rest is 
fairly short. So short in fact, that we’ve 
got room for a couple more of Justin’s 
favourites, infinite lives for the tape 
version of Martech’s Pulsator. Pick up 
your ‘stick and, like, pulsate man: 

300 DATA 93,00,5a,be,21,00,00,22 
313 DATA 95,53,22, 97,»,c3,4M‘ 

323 DATA ’end',i59Sa 


Last SLIP pokeykins here, is for 
Imagined Mag Max. Mot quite an infin¬ 
ite lifer, but it takes out collision detec¬ 
tion quite nicely thank you. Couldn’t 
run off a version of this for my next 
driving test could you Justin ? 


300 DATA 83,00,5a,bc.,3e,c9,32,d5 
310 DATA la, £3,00,02 
320 DATA p end',13782 


So then, that’s it for another month. 1 
shall leave you to ponder over my list of 
good reasons to use logo: 


ACU 



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Page 26 


Amstrad User September 1987 







































' : " : 

... ■■ ......■■■■■■—■■ 


.. 

- : - 


—:—— 


!jy ;!■; 

. 


. .. ■ 

:::: ■ .... 


COMPETITION! 


Be 

James 

Bond 

fora 

day! 



JAMES BOND was given his Aston Martin 
by d We can't offer you an Aston Martin 
but thanks to the charity of Domark we 
can offer you a chance to see one being 
made. 

The first prize is a trip to Newport Pag- 
nell, the home of Aston Martin Lagonda, 
There you will see a collection of some of 
the most impressive cars ever built - the 
world's fastest convertible, engines being 
carefully crafted and maybe a Zagato, the 
rare custom built car which is valued at 
around £150,000. 

There are two second prizes of model 


r 

„ the James Bond books, 
lan a car. What was the car | 

also wrote a DUU * ^ 
called? 

2 ) The Aston Martin Bond^f^. He has 

r :.»^“* iDBs,and ’ 0 

>c Iiame from its two directors 

3 ) Domark takes ‘ are their surnames. 

Dominic and Mark, w , — 


Aston Martins. These are no Dinky Toys 
but collector pieces built by Western 
Models. 

Ten runners-up will win whistling key¬ 
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prisons (you'll have to see the film to 
understand that). 


Send your entry to: 

Domark Competition Amstrad Computer 
User ; 169 Kings Road, Brentwood , Essex, 
CM14 4EF 


ENTRY FORM 


Name ■ ■ ■ ■ r*- «■ ir+ h* !■ ??■»■»■»■» 

Address.. 

Telephone number 



Page 27 


Amstrad User September 1987 




































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Amstrad machine, The mast lively of 
such boards that 1 use regularly is TUG 
II, in Birmingham. 

The system runs on a Tandy micro, 
with an array of one floppy and three 
5Mb hard drives, using TBBS (Tandy 
Bulletin Board System) software. The 
sysops are Pete and Sandi Fran chi, and 
the board is home to the West Midlands 
Amstrad Users Group (WMAUG), 

Sandi told me some time back that 
TUGII initially took about two weeks to 
sot up and debug, and also that it takes 
at least two hours work every night to 
keep it up to date. There are over 200 
Amstrad users registered here, and 
there are several SIGs of interest too. 
These are specialised areas for those 
who have interests in Amstrads, CP'M 
and PC'MSDOS, as well as an area for 
WMAUG. 

There is also a vast amount of tele¬ 
software here, software that can be 
downloaded via the telephone line on to 
your disc drive. Again, this is for all 
Amstrad machines, and there is that 
absolutely superb com ms program 
MEX (Modem Executive) which runs 
under CP/M for both the CPC and PCW 
machines. 

Another board that is well worth a 
visit is MBBS Leconfield - it’s a 
downloaded paradise, It has abso¬ 
lutely huge storage in the form of 
several hard disc drives, and hundreds 
of CP/M, PC/MSDOS, Pascal, and C 
programs. Whatever your machine, 
there is something of interest to you 
stored somewhere. 

The board itself runs on a fairly 
typical MBBS software system, with 
the usual messaging areas that become 
a familiar sight after you've spent a 
little time on some BBSs. The goodies 
are to be found by typing CPM and 
entering on to the operating system 
itself 

All the files are categorised into vari¬ 
ous dri ve and user areas, and many are 
stored as compressed Library l.LBR) or 

Page 29 


Man over 


board 


Paul Needs has some 


communications 

advice. 


ONE of the more exciting innovations 
of the last few years has been cheap 
telecommunications. Whereas pre¬ 
viously only the businessman could 
warrant paying out large sums of 
money for modems, comms software 
and the suchlike, now more and more 
home users have discovered that their 
world has been expanded by the pur¬ 
chase of a cheap modem, a serial 
(RS232) interface and software. 

You will have seen the advertise¬ 
ments for Micronet 800 and Prestel, a 
service for which you have to pay a 
subscription charge. 

But there are literally hundreds of 
tYee systems for the modem owner to 
explore here in the UK, They are 
seldom advertised, run by comms 
enthusiasts for the benefit of others, 
and are called bulletin boards. 

A bulletin board system (BBS) is 
little more than a sophisticated data¬ 
base program. Files and programs are 
kept in ram or on disc, and these can be 
accessed by remote users who i( login" to 
the BBS via a telephone line and 
modem. 

Many systems have been written by 
Systems Operators (sysops) for their 
own use. More and more are being set 
up using Amstrad micros, and existing 
boards are beginning to cater for 
Amstrad owners. 

Typically, a bulletin board will con¬ 
sist of several areas, the main one 
being a messaging board. Here, users 
can "post” messages for others, either 
passing on a useful hint or asking for 
help with a problem. 

These areas, known as “Special 
Interest Groups” (SIGs) cover many 
different machines. Discussions cover 
many aspects of Amstrad use, and con¬ 
tributions come from all over the UK. 

Scrolling (or Ascii) boards are still 
the most popular kind of BBS to be 
found. The incoming data moves down 
your screen, as if you were scrolling 
through a word processor file. All 
communication is in the form of stand¬ 
ard Ascii (American Standard Code for 
Information Interchart gel characters, 
unlike FYestel (Viewdata) type systems 
which have their own variation. 

Although scrolling boards arc not as 
colourful as Viewdata, they do often 

Amstrad User September 1987 


carry much more useful information, 
messaging areas and SIGs than their 
Viewdata equivalents. 

To access such a BBS, you will need 
scrolling format software. There isn't a 
great, deal of comms software available 
in any case for the Amstrad, but this is 
perhaps the area in which the micros 
are best served, The Commstar suite by 
Pace has a program called Honey term, 
which Is suitable for these boards, and 
the Modem House Svensoft package 
also has an adequate Ascii program. 

Users who tike CP/M can use a pro¬ 
gram called MEX which is one of the 
most comprehensive Ascii terminal 
programs available for the Amstrad 8 
bit machines - and it's free. Unfor¬ 
tunately, the Modem House and KDS 
interfaces cannot use MEX since CP/M 
doesn’t recognise them. 

Once into the system,, you will be able 
to follow directions given in a series of 
menus and find your way around the 
board. You will be limited to how much 
time you can spend online, since most 
boards only handle one user at a time. 
Please don’t abuse this! 

Many boards now require a new user 
to register for higher privilege on the 
board. This means that you can gain 
access to areas that are normally 
hidden away from casual callers. Spend 
time learning the way the board 
operates, as this will pay off by letting 
you spend less time reading menus and 
more time reading what you want to. 

Another approach to setting up your 
own bulletin board is to use software 
that has already been written, 
although many sysops will say that this 
approach takes most of the fun out of 
running a system. There are systems 
available to run under both Amsdos 
and CP/M. Some of the CP/M systems 
are in the public domain and are 
therefore available free to anyone who 
wants them. 

Not all of the BBSs of interest to 
Amstrad owners actually run on an 




































FEATURE 


I 


uss&ntm 








—""" 11;! ;; 1 ' h!;; 

tl _ ■ . ■ ' ; ^ 


• •• •:::•• 

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Archive (ARC) files which contain all 
the necessary COMmand files for a 
utility or program to work properly. 

The above BBSs are all of the Ascii or 
scrolling type.. Recently, a few 
Viewdata format boards have been set 
up. Cynotel runs on a CPC6128, using 
the Svensoft/KDS interface and its 
built-in RSX commands. A Voyager 7 
modem completes the line up, and a 


hard drive is to be added to this board 
shortly to make for more storage space. 

The board hasn't been open very 
long, and the host software is still being 
developed, but the board has a groat- 
deal of potential, and has areas for 
PCW, CPC, PC and ZX Spectrum, 
Shortly, telesoftware is to be added as 
well in standard CET format, so do 
have a look around. 


For this, and other Viewdata Boards, 
you'll need software similar to that 
you'd use to logon to Prestel Again, 
Commstar has such a program, this 
time called Honeyview, and the 
Svensoft/KDS interface also has a 
Viewdata terminal written into its rotn. 

Another Viewdata board that has 
areas of interest to Amstrad owners is 
called Third Wave, Although it struck 
me as being a little on the slow side, it 
really looks promising for the future. 

Pages are selected by in the * 

character, followed by the name of the 
page you require - a similar form of 
keyword search to that currently used 
on Prestel. I 1 bird Wave has an area 
called Soft Spot, which contains various 
programming tips, including how r to set 
up your own RSX commands on the 
CPC machines.. Also, the usual mess* 
age area is featured, but of course this 
looks very different from those found 
on Ascii format BBSs, mainly because 
of colour and 40 column display. 

So, there we have a brief look at some 
of the better BBSs for Amstrad users. If 
you do have a modem, give them a call 
and have a look around. If you haven't 
got a modem, and you're starling to tire 
of playing games consider a modem and 
RS232. It really does open a whole new 
world of microcomputing. 


Name 

AM STAR * 
HILARY'S 
CYNOTEL * 


Telephone Speeds 


0403 732449 
0277 233468 
0323 647004 


1200/75 & 300/300 
1200/75 & 300/300 
1200/75 


Bulletin boards with Amstrad SXG,S. 


ANWUC FIDO 
TUGII ■ 
CKILTERN BB 
LECQNFIELD* 
THIRD WAVE* 
ROS BB 

MGBBS 


061 494 6938 
021 444 1484 
0767 50511 
0401 50745 
01 S83 35290 
0392 53116 


1200/75 

1200/75 

1200/75 

1200/75 

1200/75 

1200/75 


& 300/300 
& 300/300 
& 300/300 
& 300/300 


& 300/300 
0443 733343 1200/75 & 300/300 


forma t/word + 

8/N/l Ascii 
8/N/l Ascii 
Viewdata 


8/N/l Ascii 
8/N/l Ascii 
8/N/l Ascii 
8/N/l Ascii 
Viewdata 
8/N/l Ascii 
and Viewdata 
8/N/l Ascii 


f 8/N/l indicates a data word of 8 data bits , m parity 1 stop bit 
Ascii indicates a “scrolling 7 BB. 

* indicates featured hoards. 


Figure I: Bulletin boards running on Amstrad machines 


r. . .: -—-——-— 

liiiitir wMSm 


SCREENVISION 

TURNS YOUR 
MONITOR INTO 
A COLOUR TV! 


AT THE AMAZING OFFER PRICE 

Doo r \o Door 1 nsu red del i very add £6 




USE YOUR AMSTRAD CPC464, CPC664 & 
CPC6128 MONITOR AS A COLOUR TV SET! 

Screenvisian is a modem , State-oMhe-AU' TV Tuner which simply connects 
Lo your monitor, using the existing lead and concerts it to an outslanding 
colour television 

Screenvision has more features than any other TV Tuner and costs less" 
Each tuner has seven pre-select push button channel selectors, separate 
controls for brightness, colour, tone and volume and has built in Speaker, 
Colour and Automatic gain control 

Un| ike ol her products .Scree n vision a Iso connects to a host of other Worn tors 
should you change your system 

I DEALER & EXPORT ENQUIRIES WEI COME 

* MICROCOMPUTERS 
I & ELECTRONICS LTD. 

MAIN AVENUE ■ MOOR PARK ■ NORTHWOOD MIDDLESEX ENGLAND 
TEL 09274 2C664 TELEX 929224SCREENS 



Set up your own closed 
user group on 

mkroUoh 




Microlink is ideal for transferring instant information 
between groups of people — between branches of a 
company, members of a dub or just friends with 
like-minded interests. 

Whether there are five or 500 people in the group, they 
can all be sent the same Information in one operation 
. . . instantly. 

And each recipient can immediately send a reply, or his 
qwh comments, to every other member of the group. 
Head offices of companies use Microlink to send daily 
memos to their regional offices. Chains of shops use 
MicroLink to receive daily trading reports from their 
branches. 

Ifs cheap, reliable - and it's 100 per cent secure, 
because information sent via Microlink can only be seen 
by the person for whom it is intended. 

Details from 061-456 8383. 


electro^ . _ , 

much, much tnore 


mail and 


Page 30 


Amstrad User September 1987 


































mowi it uuyauun 

Probably the best 
Joystick in thewofidJHft 

• Auto Fire 

« Micros witch 
F ire Sutton s 

• Metal Shaft 

»s i 

M crt. swiion . • 

controls 

• 1 2 Month 
warranty.. 


Amdrum Digital own 
system for the 
^S^^Amstrad <>64. 

664,6128. 


II Joystick 

l[* 4 extremely 
l|sensitive fire 
11 buttons 

| * Au(o fire switch „ 
|* Strong base ^ 
I suction cups 
[• Uniquely 
| sty red hand grip 4 

i* 12 Month warranty 


Aerial 

If Splitter 

csemim.C heetah’s neat 
KaMT splitter unit 
complete 
with 

h" self-adhesive pad 

pllows you to keep your TV. and 
Icomputer aerial leads plugged in 
without disturbing the picture. 


Split Extension 
Connector 


kits available 


; FOR AMDRUM 

I Latin Kit 

f * Ed ‘ ,t>r .£3,99 

I electro Kit 

I * Editor -.£4.99 

Afro Kit 

Editor. £4 q Q 

Mfni Interface to 

ssar s w*i 

6m .C29.95 


Cnables 2 Amstrad 
j peripherals to be 
:connected to the 
computer bus. 


3 5 octave 
lie keyboard 
ia a sophisticated 

, powerful compeer 

for a wide range ou 


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Norbury House. Norbury Road 
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Telephone: Carwff (0222) 5-55535 
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Ck.! nve <y normally 14 days, 
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R.S.D. WILL SEE YOU'RE WELL CONNECTED 








AMSTRAD 


DATA SWITCHBOXES 


Primer Cable 

664/464/61 m 1m 

2 m 

Extension Printer Cable 

1 m plus power . (PCW) 

Monitor Extension Lead 

664/6138 1m 

PCW Cable from Interface to 
Centronics Printer 

Expansion port extension lead 

6" Single F/M 
6 H trouble F;'2m'£ 

Suitable - 664 & 6126 

Second drive lead 
im 664& 6120 
Cassette lead 


£8.95 

C9.95 

E9.95 

tS.SC 

£12.75 

£10.50 

£14,75 


£6.95 

£ 2.20 


1512 
PRINTER LEAD 


RS232 

GENDER 

CHANGERS 

Arad modlylrx) or 
replacing inccm- 
pfflifcle wWas, nv'm. 
«. 

Our Price only £9.54 


HS232 CABLES 
MODEM LEADS 
MADE TO ORDER 
FOR ALL TYRES 
Of COMPUTER 
AND MODEMS 


This new range of slimline switchboxes enables you to 
switch quickly and easily between micros and printers 


R3232 (Serial) metal cased 


Centronics (Parallel) ffrtlil <4**4 


25-way “Dl' ta 2-wey £54.00 

25* way 'Dl' to 3-way £69.00 

25-way 'Dl' to 4-way £79,00 

36-way CanEranics 1 to 2-way Para £49.00 
36-way Cenlronies i to 3-way Para £59,00 
38-way C«nm>nlcs 1 to *.way Para £81.00 
36-way Centronics 2 to 2 change 
over Crosswar E72.0O 

Ail cables at discount prices when purchasing Date Switchboxes 

TELEPHONE EXTENSION CABLE TELEPHONE CONNECTORS 


Plugs into your phone 
socket enabling you 
sotafleywjr phone 
up Do SOti sway - 
no need » pay tor 
extension*! EnckiSed 
In neat casa with 
mouk»d carrying 
handle. Approval No. 
N a r 223&34 r j t 4609(27., 
Stilish made, 

£9.95 


All ahoy* item* available from our Australian agent: tecn-M-ft, 
Plaza, 460 Starting Highway. Ctttteilw 6011 W. Australia 


Surface master jack socket £3,75 

SurriL'.ti Extension -socket £2.50 

Dual outlet adaotor £4.25 

line jack Dord 3m £1.85 

4 core cable per matte .1 5 

ST plugs .48 

DISK HEAD CLEANERS 

5.25" Wot type J or use with single 
or double-sided disks, i nolud- ng 6 
cleaning sheets £8.95 


AMSTRAD 
NEW.. X 

JOYSTICK SPLITTER 
Play wnh a friend 1 Sputter enables 2 
joysticks to be used 

independently ONLY £6.95 

Twin port joystick _ £6,30 

OUST COVERS 

PC 1512 £9,50 All (WS 

612S £7.25 clear with 

PCW sel* 3 £9.50 Grey piping 


MONITOR LEADS 

(Seat, to- BBOOLCoTnocffa 1 
ScrryTSfacTW 128 8 Plus ifltartHl E4.® 

Micwwe to; BSOQLSwpnm 1288 Pei 
B'ArolTad £175 

Ferguscn to: BBCCrmTcdare MMSJUQL 1 
Spec Tut 12S S. PiiEi'ArfttHjd £150 

Htschi to- BBCfCotmcdora EaQL'SpecIri.m 12ft 
A PVjS B'AfWM £150 

Sony Ka^tr BBC £195 

Giwn stw b: Conwngdp"a ftifrBBC £2,95 

Green scetr b. Oi £1.95 

Green screen S>: CCnxnodo'B 128 £4.95 

Phono b Phona Et.Sfl 

Ptifcs to. SBOComodw# &s sa.96 


DlSTfillBUTTON SOCKe 


4-WAY MAINS 
TRAILING 
ONLY £9.50 

RIBBON CABLE (per ft) 

10-way 15p 20-way 30p 

26-way *5p 34 way 80p 

40-way lOp 60-way £1.10 

CASSETTE HEAD CLEANERS 

Wet type. Set includes Pin-wheel 
demagnetiier K tvjf in mictions £2.SO 


75p P&P IN : UK. Access & Visa accepted. Please add 15% VAT to all orders. Cheques made payable to: 

R.S.D. CONNECTIONS LTD Dept AU9, PO Box 1, Ware, Herts 
( Tel: 0920-5285/66284 E 


Amstrad User September 1087 


Page 31 


















































REVIEW 




You may think that not buying a 
£25 accounting program is a good 
way to save money 


HFP is the name givers to a new "Home 
Finance Program" (hence the initials) 
by a company called Data vise from Co, 
Down, Northern Ireland. 

Where most home accounts pro* 
grams provide the facility to enter 
expenditure and total and summarise 
it, HFP attempts to help you to save 
and keep a record of your expenses. It 
does this by allowing you to forecast 
your expenditure under different 
categories. 

As you spend your money, the bal¬ 
ance forecasts are updated, letting you 
see when you are overspending and 
when spending should he restricted to 
cover anticipated future expenses. 

The principles behind the program 
are sound. In correct accounting 
manner, if does not permit you to alter 
entries once they have been made. All 
corrections must, be made by contra 
entries. 

Data vise claims that the full benefits 
will be realised after using HFP over a 
period. The experience gained in 
previous years should help forecasting 
expenses. Unfortunately the editor 
would not let me delay the review for a 
couple of years to test the claims, so we 
must just accept that this is probably 
true. 

The program is supplied on a single 
disc with a comprehensive manual in 
an unusually large and floppy, 64 page, 
A4 size ring binder. HFP runs under 
CP/M Plus and can therefore be used 
on the CPC612S and the PCW range of 
computers. I tested it on both. 

The manual is well printed and laid 
out and assumes neither knowledge of 
computers nor accounting systems. It 
starts with a general introduction to 
the program, followed by precise details 
of how to create a working copy, before 
dearly detailing how to use it.. 


would disagree. 

Recommendations are made that you 
do not complicate the program by 
having a multitude of unnecessary 
headings. It is also suggested that 
entries are restricted to genuine pay¬ 
ments out of accounts, rather than 
detailing every little out-of-pocket 

expense. 

This is a sensible approach; it is the 
sort of thing that makes the difference 
between the system falling by the 
wayside due to the amount of work 
involved, or surviving over a period of 
time. 

Getting started 

The supplied disc includes a program to 
create a working disc. Data vise say this 
is the only way to create a working copy 
of HFP, so that if you need to create a 
new? one, it’s necessary to repeat the 
same procedure, using the original disc. 

Each copy is supplied customised 
with the user's name, so presumably 
the program is only available from 
Datavise. 

Setting up the working disc is simple. 
HFP does almost all the work. It is only 
necessary to follow" the prompts to 
change discs and press a few keys. The 
end result is a disc that can be put in 
drive A at switch on and which will 


David Foster 


automatically load CP/M, followed by 
HFP (CPC6128 owners will have to 
type RARCPM, of course). 

HFP is intelligent to the extent that 
it automatically configures itself to the 
computer, only requiring to know what 
printer is being used (or details of 
certain printer codes if the printer is 
not one of the listed ones) and whether 
a green screen or colour monitor is 
being used on the CPC. 

Un the PCW, it will arrange itself to 
copy certain program files on to drive 
M, when first loaded, to speed up oper¬ 
ation in use. CPC6128 owners with 
only a single drive have to do a lot of 
disc changing when using the program, 
as HFP requires data to be stored on a 
separate disc. 

The program is well presented and 
appears to be thoroughly error trapped. 
It is very menu and window orientated 
and all functions are accessed via 
menus, selecting the option with the 
cursor keys and pressing Enter, The 
lower part of the screen displays which 
keys are valid and Exit/Esc may usu¬ 
ally be pressed in order to obtain on¬ 
screen help. 

HFP has an IQ 

Once into the main program, HFP 
again shows a degree of intelligence. 
When you start to type in a command, 
specify a heading or account, it 
anticipates the selection after one or 
two characters are typed and displays it 
for confirmation. 

If you specify headings carefully it is 
rarely necessary to type more than one 
or two characters to select the 
comma nd/heading you require, which 
saves a lot of effort. The displays of 
menus and keys available are similarly 
intelligent and only those options 
which are valid at any given time are 
displayed. 

For example, when you first load 
HFP, only the options to open a folder 
or exit HFP are available. There would 
be little point in printing or viewing 
nothing, but once you have actually 
started to create your folder further 
options become available on the menus 

Amstrad User September 1987 


FOLDER: MVACCS 


SEARCHING THE DATABASE 


W\ as mi i 1 "" ot|! ■ i 



I 


Action: Altacit* 


! 


llHwaimi 


All 


Account: AH 


MESSAGES 


FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE EXIT 

II OMtf* r 


% 


„DI a trail 
frill changes 


II Jun 87 m 



fS mm starch 


Figure I: Looking up your record of expenditure 
Page 32 

















































REVIEW 


) 


to suit, Once a new folder has been 
opened, the Utilities option is available 
and this lets you edit accounts and 
headings. In addition, you may custo¬ 
mise the help screens to provide further 
information. 

When you use HFP for the first time, 
it will be necessary to give details of the 
names of accounts, such as Bank, 
Cred!it Card and Building Society and 
specify the categories where expen¬ 
diture goes. It is a good idea not to 
break things down loo much also to 
specify the categories that expenditure 
is to be broken down into. It is a good 
idea not to break things down too much 
also to specify the categories that 
expenditure is to be broken down into. 

It is a good idea not to break things 
down too much since you are limited to 
16 categories. You may also specify 
which of three screen displays are to be 
used to show details of which account 
giving order in which they will appear. 

A finance session 

Having done that, you may start a 
Finance session, L'his is where you 
enter the information. Initially you are 
presented with an overview of the 
categories or headings, but by pressing 
keys 0 to 3 you switch between the 
other throe display screens. The over¬ 
view gives a listing of the various head¬ 
ings, analysed Into the total amount 
spent, the budgeted amount, the bal¬ 
ance of the budget still unspent, and 
the amount earmarked as an expense, 
but not. yet covered by available funds. 

The other three screens (you don't 
have to use all three) display things 
slightly differently. As with the over¬ 
view, the categories are listed down the 
side, but this time they are cross 
referenced with the accounts. You can 
tell at a glance how much you have 
spent on each category and from which 
account. 

The option to spend 

Six commands are available, Budget, 
Allocate, Spend. Transfer, Move and 
finally Leave, and these may be selected 
by pressing the first letter of each 
command. Initially, Allocate should be 
used to enter up the opening balances 
into each account. 

This command is used whenever new 
money is paid into an account. Budget 
is used to enter estimated expenditure 
and you must specify the account from 
which it will be paid and the category, 
as well as the amount. 

Spend, not surprisingly, is the 
command used to enter amounts spent 
and the account that was used and the 

Ams trad User September 1987 





m SESSHU 


U s 

Cipfiws 

fSi 

Limit its 
iefcar 

Rates etc 
Repairs 

^Sjjuters 

idlf* 

itefiirs 

Na|e| 

1 

T ®n 
1 1 IT 

9 iff 

T-ft 

M* 




miaw 


mmmm 





AtUm: 1 

tv EXIT ftt HOP I'ailfflj] active 

i 

special ms scam 


Figure IF Preparing the information 


Ml: RVKCS 

UHU IIS TRAIL 

IS Jun ST m 

Mil 

HEADING 

MOUNT MSCimiDN (1-El 

1* ENTRIES 

IS am IT 

Rates etc 

SM.M illotited in XidUnd account 

S».M buiseted 


IS Jim ft? 

Rates ttc 


16 Jui 87 

Counters 

SS.M il'ceitS in Hi West account 
4M.M budgeted 


1G Jim 87 

Cwwttrs 


1G Jun 87 

Pent 

4M.M budgeted 


It Jun ST 

Feat 

1SS.M Ideated in NOntst aceeunt 


TM 

AVAILABLE 


S entries 

£8 START Win f3 nNISaVwST 


Figure III: Checking for overspending 


FOLDER: HVACCS 

sr 

Luxuries 
ftetor 
utes etc 
Repairs 


mm 


BUDGETS* 

8 


FDiMCl 

tmm 




5MNT 



HFP 


Jim 17 

me mm 

Mns 

r Sel 

curies 
ctor 

ales etc 
tp&irs 


Action: 1 

Tap EXIT 1 

tr HELP 

Mil 

J utiwe 

Repairs 18 Jim B?* 

SPECIAL KEVS 

T 


Figure IV: HFP tomes into its own after a few month a 


Page 33 





























































REVIEW 


I 


I . 1 . 1 . 1 . ..‘. ll ... .1 

:■ :■ 9. *:o v-iffii-:: ■: :■: 






' =.= 




:::: ::: 


fiiV . ViY . V . V .- i ., 


m 


::: 

:::: 

..... 






mm\ mm 


account editor 


Jw 87 HFP 


SCREEN 

Aft 

Nattiest 

AFC 

Hid Land 

AFC 

AFC 

A/C 

2 

Access 





3 







VC NM 

jlMSl 

3) Access 

Tb 

Art nm 

TOTAL 

AFC HAKE 

ti 

TOTAL 

i) 


Ji 





factions available 

U CHEATS account 
f l DELETE account 


EXIT for HUP 

H POSITION account 
£4 Uf 


mwmtewmmtMm 


lAUE editor 


figure V: Careful 
planning is needed 
to mu hi. the best use 
of J G accounts 


category of expenditure must be given. 

Transfer and Move appear similar, 
but are very different in their use. 
Transfer is used to indicate the transfer 
of funds from one account to another, 
Move is used to transfer budgeted 
amounts from one category to another. 

This last option does not have any 
effect on the amount of money in each 
account. It is merely a way of re¬ 
distributing your budgeted balances if 
you find that you have underestimated 
expenditure in one category and 
overestimated it in another. 

At the end of each entry, you may 
enter a comment, this provides the 
means to expand on the precise expen¬ 
diture. By default, HFP uses the date 
entered when the program is first 
loaded, In addition, it. lets you specify 
another date, which allows you to enter 
any payments that may have omitted 
in earlier sessions. On completing a 
finance session, you may print out a 
trail of entries in the current session to 
the screen or printer. 

Time to review 
the situation 

If you want to study entries from an 
earlier session you must use the Data¬ 
base, option. This provides a means to 
interrogate the folder and you may 
specify conditions, such as which 
account, which category or type of 
entry and the period over which the 
search is to take place. 

Once the search has been made, the 
list of matching entries may be dis¬ 
played on screen or sent to a printer. 
Alternatively, you may view or print a 
trail for a given date. 

Conclusions 

There are one or two features about the 
program which may be considered 

Page 34 


weaknesses, such as the fact that, the 
program automatically assumes that 
the working disc is in drive A and the 
data disc is in drive B. 

This is fine, even with only a single 
disc drive, as you merely switch discs as 
prompted by the program or CP/M, It 
does mean that PCW 8512 owners 
cannot, store data on a CF2 disc in drive 
A and the program cannot be used from 
a hard disc, or any disc that is recog¬ 
nised as anything other than A or B. 

Another criticism is that while a var¬ 
iety of printers may be used, there is no 
provision for anything other than 
single sheet A4 paper. It really should 
to he possible to use continuous sta¬ 
tionery. 

One point which mildly irritated me 
was that while the method of menu 
selection works well, it requires use of 
the cursor keys and Enter, when it 
would be easier to select the option by 
typing the first letter or a number. 

The program is very pedantic about 
whether Enter or Return is used. Most 
of the time. Enter is used from menus, 


hut on occasions, within the program 
itself, you are required to press Return, 
This means that you have to keep a 
close eye on the bottom of the screen to 
see which key is required. 

Overall, the program gives a feeling 
of confidence and is easy to learn to use, 
with the combination of the thorough 
manual,, the help screens and the way 
that the program, prompts you at all 
times. 


If you are looking for a program to 
keep a record of your finances, then 
this could be the one to choose. It has 
certainly got nearer to persuading me 
that a computer may be a viable way to 
keep my home accounts than any other _ 
program I have tried. 


ACU 


Product; HFP 
Price: £24.95 

Supplier: Data rise, 20 PrumnaQuoite 
Hoad, Castleusellan, Co. Down BT3J 
9NT 

(Include a personalisation message with 
your order) 


FOLDER: ft if ACCS 

HEADING DEFINITION 


HEADING EDITOR 


HD. 

D 

2 ) 

3) 

4) 


nwiXi 


INC 


Repairs 

FO.-: 

fuel 
Cttptttfs 
tor 

tes etc 
luxuries 


TOTAL 

IM 
ft.tt 
«.*8 
I.H 


lips.* I 

8 ) 


no, n 

9) 


HEADING 


mm 


it! 

12) 

ii! 

i 


CRiti posnfol 


FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE 
U CREATE heading 
f£ DELETE heading 


£3 FASHION heading 

£4 ORDER alphabetical!!! 



Lies etc 
Repairs 


raraff"” 1 * 


Figure VI; HFP is menu driven 


Amstrud User September J 987 

























































3" DISKS 


PRINTER RIBBONS 


AH Ribbons-PGST FREE 

Please: Specify Printer when Ordering 


PAPER 


High Quality 11"* &V 2 ' 
60gsm Weight 
Micro-Perf all Round 

2000 Sheets - 


ONLY 

£14.95 

Post Freel 


PCW SOFTWARE SPECIALS 


PCWSTARTER PAK 


NEW LOWER PRICES AND... I 
EVEN BETTER SERVICE! 

Now Ail Goods Despatched SAME DAT by ist CLASS POST-FREE! 

/ f \ \ \ \ \ \ 1 

—/ ” /— i~ / 1 t \ V \ \ \ \ ^1 


.10 CF2 Disks 
1 AMS 20L Box 
2000 Sheets ol Paper 
1 PCW Carbon Ribbon 


'Special Pak Price' 

£ 49.95 


SAVE ALMOST £6! Post Free! 


Genuine AM5TRAD Printer Ribbons... 
Better Quality-Lower Price! 


FREE! Slank Disk with each of the above 
Software Specie is, _ 


NEW PCW CARBON . . ... .95 

•STANDARD PCW .... £4.95 

DMP 2000/3000 ... t4,95 


LOCOMAIL (Amsott) 

THE MAIL MERGE PROGRAM. 
LOCOSP6LL {Amsott) 

THE SPELLING CHECKER __ 


£34 


MEWS DESK INTER MATlONAl 
(The EleotHg Studio) 

THE DESKTOP PUBLISHING SYSTEM— 
SUPERCALC 2 (Anrisoft) 

THE SPREADSHEET ____ 


MASTER FILE SOOO (Campbell Systems? 
THE DA TAB ASP _ 


£34 

£44 

£44 

£44 


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WORD PROCESSOR 
Compose a letter, set the 
print out options using 
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mentis, use the mail merge 
facility to produce personalised 
circulars “ and more! 




DATABASE 

Build up a versatile card index, 
use the Flexible print out 
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LABEL PRINTER 
Design the layout of a label 
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Mini Office II offers the most comprehensive, integrated 
suite of programs ever written for the Amstrad - making it 
the most useful productivity tool yet devised. 

A team of leading software authors were brought 
together to devote a total of 26 man years of programming 
to the development of Mini Office II. What they have 
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The sample screenshots above illustrate just a few of the 
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is it that easy to use? Several leading reviewers have 


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Yet possibly the best advertisement for Mini Office II is 
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That was so successful it was shortlisted in two major 
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It was up to Mini Office II to take over where the first 
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This is the package thousands of Amstrad owners have 
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Prepare budgets or tables* 
total columns or rows with 
ease* copy formulae absolutely 
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automatically — and more! 


■itjt 


GRAPHICS 
Enter data directly or load data 
from the spreadsheet, produce 
pie charts, display bar 
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[ .57 


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COMMS MODULE 
Using a modem 
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ounced tl 


JAMES BOND OOT^Z 




£ 






cottlon^t 
omp uter 
If 3n am- 
elI short 
sear 


ou are 


1 1 


Oornark 
they had.the rig 
Daylights, I shud 
elp rememberin’ 
e of View t 
Itious idea 
^enough of tfh 
Dom ark's jrepu ta 
Still in a world w 
only las good as your last game, 
Domark has climbed to the top of 
the charts. Split Personalities is 
•5* still one of my favourite games, but 
that is not what has put Domark 
where it is today. 

It was Trivial Pursuit (TP), the 
game which wrecked a thousand 
friendships. Board game conver¬ 
sions are usually naff, especially if 
there is no computer opponent amt 
with TP such a feature is impos¬ 
sible. Domark handled this with 
such skill and artistry that ACU 
gave it the highest ratings ever. 
The Living Daylights belongs to 
the new school of Domark. A well 
designed, playable game, it man¬ 
ages to follow the plot of the film 
quite closely* 

It would be impossible to review 
the game without explaining what 
happens in the film. Three double 
0 agents are sent on a practice 
mission. They have to penetrate 
the defences of Gibraltar, The SAS 
are there to protect it* 

Both sides are armed with paint- 
firing guns and any hit registers as 
a kill. The two other agents are 
knocked out quickly, but when 
Bond finds that the fake killing is 
not quite so fake he realises that 
there is a real bad die on the prowl, 
it is Bond’s defeat of the 
assassin, and his escape from a 
stieky fire and watery death which 
is the highlight of the film. The 
credits, with a totally tinmemor- 
able song by A-Ha, follow. 

The title screen show T s Bond and 
friends parachuting into Gibral¬ 
tar. The game opens with a solo JB 
running past paint touting SAS 
men* 

You control both his running 
and firing* Using a clev^er joystick 
control system you can move the 
cursor off the right hand edge of 


the screen, Thisi*eatRe 
► run; pushing up makes thl 
and down caused him to roll* 
nil* 007 must Idok out for 
dues jump over them. TheC 
cnerfajmeter is depleted if the 
Secret Service sprite is shot or 
trips over a rock* 

Shooting at SAS men is tricky, a 
bit like the Sniper game published 
in ACU a while back. Running 
av^ay is not the answer, blasting 
the fire button is much better. 
When he reaches the end of the 
screen Bond must deal with the 
assassin. Here the target practice 
on SAS men comes in handVv 
Switch the paint pistol to a 


trusty Wal tiger PJPK. In, an earner 
exp]oi t Bond woul d h a ve go nc for a 
Oat .25 neref iji with a’skeleton * 

* grip,Wt after the'Silencer jammed 
it was banned by M who, dismissed *; j| 
as M a ladies gun” 

So in the game it’s a .WaUher 
PPK, no doubt of 7.G5 mm calibre 
pulled from a Burns-Martin triple¬ 
draw holster, a feat achieved with 


some more 
clever joystick jug¬ 
gling, and move the cursor down to 
the bottom right to toggle between 
weapons. Then it is back to Q’s 
Workshop to rearm. 

It is here that Bond sees the 
Ghetto-Blaster, a shoulder, 
launched rocket disguised as a 
Rrixton briefcase. But for the nc 
assignment 007 heads for the 


w Lenin People’s Music Conser¬ 
vatory. In the film he uses a custom 


built Audi 200, because Audi paid 
for its appearance. In the game it is 
the magic of computing which 
transports him across the world. 

You are outside the conservatory 
and have to help Koskov, a defec¬ 
ting Russian, escape. He is protec- 
by KGB snipers and you must 
them without killing 
onlookers. Night glasses 
needed to distinguish who’s 


to the West is in a gas 
In the film this is done 
covertly, a female distraction 
being used to prevent the pipeline 
foreman from noticing a senior 
Russian soldier climbing into a 
barrel* 

Unfortunately things are not 
quite so simple in the game. 
Guards thrown pipes at you, so 









[hat is going on. 

pat film tie-ins 
Miff, you’ll miss 

» perfectlyffcs- 
Igame without 


don t have to be 3 
out but it would h 
sible to play the 
going to the movie 
The film is, like 
film, primarily all 
plot, Manyflfwisei 
ponder 6ver the m 
ous James Bone 


ny'other Bond 
ction and little? 
film critic will 
rits of the vari- 
s. A bit like H 
ertwee was the 


n on the new 
on. He is too 
id not Scottish 
f tnW bbgttt- 
:>hvious for a 
laryam dftbo, 
ijd the Aston 
ibugh reasons 


Score 0O7 r Lives 

HalXii*r PPK 


Vhe tlun Logn HAN'JAQ 

The T.ivirir: DaJ 1 lights United ArlinlH 


low 


youTl need a hard hat, a 
pipes can give you a dr 
headache - pull down on 
stick to tumble beneath them. 

Once Koskov is rescued Rond 
takes him. and the Aston Martin 
Volante to a county mansion for 
debriefing. The KGB moves In to 
retrieve Koskov and sends Neeros, 
a secret service man who has 
muscles in places where I don’t 

fejfcJP £ “jt'-'-'i f 

l£tn have pieces, 

a ^excellent bit$of the game 
is throws TNT — laden mi 
&t Bond while a helicopter 
overhead. Koskov is 

td. m JS* C 

film Bond then rescues 
'and thfew escape-fc an Aston 
tin saloon and a cello case. I 
music lovers get a good deal 
upset aboul a bullet hole in a 
-ius than car lovers do 
about tf# destruction of one of the 
world’s most expensive ears, I feel 
that it was a mistake to skip these 
scenes from the game. 

The escape is to Vienna. Kara is a 
Tiffany Case type character - the 
only girl in the film with 
whom Bond has a liaison. 
Perhaps they were 
having trouble 
selling anything 
• with sordid scenes 
overseas. In Vienna, 
Necros is on the prowl, 
he may not be working for 
the KGB after all but is just as 
deadly. I 

Bond is assigned to rescue 
Koskov, tracked down to Tangiers 


,r 


and after a rooftop chase, in the 
film he is caught. Jn a plot to buy 
drugs with diamonds Bond and 
Kara are flown to Afghjfcijtii&a.n, 
where they smash the drug ring 
with the he|p of local rebels, and 
escapetbe clutch^ of the Hussies 
who are in cohorts with' the real 
baddtie, Brad Wit taker. 

It is in Witlaker s house that the 
final showdown takes r place, 
^neharauteristieally for a Bond 
is no big final explosion, 
r e’ve already had a few of 


ffl 


bu 


th 




Con 


3 > v' 

The game is well programmed by 
Design Design, now renamed 
Walking Circles Software. This 
shows in the energy:, meter which 
also featured in Dark Star and the 
truly wonderful Tankbusters. 

The sprite animation is 
excellent, there must be a huge 
number of frames. The three level 
scroll is difficult to program, even 
with the screen shrunk, 12k is still 
a lot to shift, 

I am not very good at shooting 
games hut still enjoyed The Living 
Daylights. Perhaps seeing the film 
helped, as it is much easier to 
believe in a bunch of pixels sprin¬ 
ting across my bedroom if I’ve seen 


ous 

thinking that 
best Dr Who. 

I am not too u.; 
man, Timothy Da 
short, too smooth 
enough. Some 
projection is too 
modern 

10 plays hjj 
lifting are 
>r gorirtg. 

Perpaps Bond fi' 
so far from the bo 
comparison is not Ejir, 

Ian Fleming’s Bond to Albert Broc¬ 
coli’s. That said, it is an all-action 
film - see it before you buy the 
game. 

The game is great; buy it after 
you’ve seen the fiin£ 


ACU 








.. . ^ 






























PROGRAMMING 




If your program doesn't work then this 
advice from Rupert Goodwins should 
help phind the phault. 


IT happens to the best of us. Three 
hours of typing, and the latest maga¬ 
zine program is in and saved to tape. 
With trembling fingers, the magic word 
RUN is sent scurrying into the guts of 
the computer. 

Through the mists of incipient VDU 
blindness appears not Roland goes Pig¬ 
ging but — horror — the demon Syntax 
Error. It cackles “Type Mismatch in 
7750”, 

Lesser mortals break down in tears 
at this point, or (more usually) half an 
hour and 17 similar incomprehen¬ 
sibilities later, ACU readers know 
better. They know how to treat an 
Unexpected Return better than 
Becker. 

It doesn’t matter whether the listing 
has been typed m incorrectly, or 
whether there was a mistake in the 
magazine (never in this magazine, of 
course. Our highly trained, shark-eyed, 
computer-literate proof readers never 
miss a fifghdlgh). With a little intel¬ 
ligent application of TRON, even the 
most stubborn bug can be shifted in 
seconds. 

The first clue in tracking and eradi¬ 
cating the bug is the error message 
itself. Basic isn’t over endowed with 
messages, and some of them are 
unfriendly even by Amstrad standards. 
That Unexpected Return, for example, 
means that a subroutine has been 
entered by a GOTO instead of a 
GOSUB. or just entered in the normal 
RUN of things, 

The problem is probably not (as the 
manual says) that “A Return command 
has been encountered when not in a 
sub-routine”, The bug lies not at the 
Return command, but an indeter¬ 
minate number of lines earlier, at a 
point the computer has long since for¬ 
gotten. An ideal candidate for TRON. 

You should be able to spot where in 
the program the errant subroutine 
starts. If nothing else, there’ll be a 
GOSUB or two to it. Remember the line 
number. Now TRON stands for TRace 
ON, and is fairly elephantine in its 
application. 

Following a TRON command, every 


time the computer encounters a new 
line of Basic it prints out the line 
number in brackets, thus [2130]* 

Obviously, this is going to mess up 
any other screen activity in a major 
way, but for now we can live with this. 
First, RUN the program again, making 
sure you can replicate the problem. 
Then bung in a line at the start of the 
program similar to 1 TRON. 

You can of course append a TRON to 
the end of a suitable line, or place it 
some way down the program if you’re 
sure that the preceding bits work A OK. 

RUN the offending software. As if by 
some powerful magic, your screen will 
fill hundreds of square-bracketed line 
numbers, followed by that error mess¬ 
age. Now it’s easy. Read the list of 
numbers back from the last one, until 
you get to an occurrence of the first line 
of the subroutine (I did tell you to 
remember it). 

The line number before that is the 
one with the bug, A quick glance 
should reveal a GOTO instead of a 
GOSUB. If instead the line number is 
the one immediately before the begin¬ 
ning of the problem subroutine, then 
there’s a missing GOTO, Return or 
STOP between the lines. 

If consulting the program listing fails 
to shed light on the affair, you’ll have to 
try to understand the way in which the 
program is supposed to work. Nasty, 
but good for you. 

The same basic method can be 
usefully applied to the closely-related 
error, Unexpected NEXT, In this case 
(assuming you haven’t mistyped or 
mislaid the FOR statement that should 
come before it), there’ll be a GOTO 
which leaps into the middle of the FQR- 
...NEXT loop, and the first line number 
working from the end of the TRON list¬ 
ing that isn't in the loop is the villain of 
the piece. Fm sure you’ve got the pic¬ 
ture by now, 

Another fave crash is indicated by 
the popular Type Mismatch. This usu¬ 
ally means that a $ is missing or unwel¬ 
come in a chunk of Basic fin which case 
the line number in the error message 
actually points to the line number 



Page 40 


Amstrad User September 1987 




























































































" - ■■ . --■ ■■■ ■"» ■ ■ ■■ ■—' ... ... - .... .. I . M il l 1 I I I I I JB I 




ft BOTTLE 


ounttess Counts 
irons ScLashirig 
^Transcription 


of Hex, CfverfW 
matches of Tym 


first, count the number of DATA 
statements. Divide by two, and delete 
all the lines past the first half - having 
previously SAVED the program, of 
course (cor. some people,,.). Then do a 
little FOR X = 0 to NrREAD A:NEXT X, 
where N is the number of DATA state¬ 
ments per line multiplied by the 
number of lines of DATA left. 

Sounds complicated, but if you get an 
error this time, then the missing DATA 
items (or at least one of them) should be 
in the first half of the program. If you 
don't get an error, then the miscreant is 
in the second lot of DATA statements. 
Repeating the process, dividing the 
number of DATA lines by two each 
time, quickly reduces the area where 
the problem is to a hand-checkable list 
of lines. 

Binary chop? Dividing (hence chop* 
the area under scrutiny by two i hence 
binary) successively. The technique can 
be useful in lots of other areas, most 
notably where an unknown bit of pro¬ 
gram is doing Something Nasty. 

By eliminating half the remaining 
program at each debugging session, the 
bug's lair can be tracked down in 
surprisingly short order. But you do 
have to be disciplined and resist the 
temptation to go haring off after likely 
leads. Binary chops only save time if 
used with discretion. 

If the DATA lines are irregular in 
length, and there's no sort of error 
checking in evidence, you have a prob¬ 
lem. Lots of coffee helps. Some seem¬ 
ingly intractable problems can arise 
from CPC Basic treating undeclared 
variables as Kero or empty strings. 

This goes as far as DATA 1,2,,3,4,5, 
where the double commas will be inter- 
preted as containing a zero, because the 
computer can’t find a real value there. 
It’s only trying to be helpful, but many 
a mysterious crash has occurred by 
phantom zeros floating into otherwise 
impeccable machine code. 

There are many other problems lying 
in wait for the tired, the distracted' the 
shaky of finger when listings get typed 
in. Most of them, like those discussed 
above, can be cleared up with a little 
logic. Or, failing that, a snotty letter to 
the Listings Editor, But not to ACU. 
We never make mistakes. It says so in 


ACU 


where there’s a problem), or that a 
DATA statement is a bit odd. 

This leads on to THE problem area 
for magazine listing freaks - the miss¬ 
ing DATA item. (Actually DATA is 
plural, and since you wouldn’t say 
dates item it should say datum, but try 
that in Basic and you'd have an error 
for sure). READ and DATA are won¬ 
derfully useful for spurting acres of 
hexadecimal machine code into the 
very bowels of your Arnold (what a 
wonderful turn of phrase). 

Now homo sapiens might have 
evolved to do a lot of things, like chuck¬ 
ing spears, eating Big Macs, talking, 
and dancing to Depeche Mode, but in 
terms of unnatural acts that mess up 
our cortex typing in hex listings comes 
pretty near top. 

Huge areas of grey matter abscond 
during DATA statement generation* 
the concentration wanders Sind mis¬ 
takes happen, And all the computer 
can say is DATA exhausted. 

TRON can't help you here. It doesn’t 
show the line numbers of the DATA 
statements being read in, and even if it 
did you couldn’t guess what’s missing. 
But even such horrors are amenable to 
that of man logic. 

The first thing to find out is whether 
a whole line is missing, or just an item 
or two. Do this by bunging a false 
DATA statement on the end of the pro¬ 
gram, and add items until the error 
goes away. 

If there's a GALL in the Basic which 
happens immediately after the DATA 
is read in, patch it out by putting a rem 
between the line number and the line, 
Otherwise the DATA statements 
(which are wrong) will generate 
machine code (which will be wrong) and 
the computer will go bonkers. Better 
still, put a STOP in the program just 
after the I"OR,.. NEXT or whatever 
there is with the READ in it. 

If there are more than three or so 
items missing, you’ve probably dropped 
a complete line. Best cure in this case is 
to check the listing - it should be easy 
to spot something that humungous has 
gone awry. 

Less than that, and there's a bit of a 
slog ahead. If the person who wrote the 
program used a fixed number of DATA 
items per line, then you can engage in 
the traditional Binary Chop, 






? ■ 1 ■ 


programming] 







Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 41 
































feature! * 


From ERIC DONAGAIN 
SUN 07 JUN 1087 22:43 


Remember a while back when I said the 
1512 screen went blank but everything 
else still worked?, it just did it again. 

What is happening is that the NV 
ram area is being corrupted* ie trying 
to print black on black!?. The prog that 
did it both times was RPED. Has 
Roland got a strange sense of humour 
do you think!? 

He MUST have a strange sense of 
humour! First he puts a 7 bit port on 
CPCs then he makes Spectrum+3 port 
incompatible! 



From IAN HO ARE 


i still don't get anything from [HELP 
with Amstrad RS232 driver. IROMCAT 
has some results, but lists in reverse 
order, showing Basic not only in 0, but 
in ALL unused sockets! I didn’t believe 
it and turned cm all off to test! It does 
not tell me who wrote anything, let- 
alone who made the T! 


From DAVID FOSTER 
WED 10 JUN 1987 20:55 


The credits for the Amstrad RS232 rom 
read like the Who's who of Amstrad, 
Written by RP and illustrated by Alex 
Martin. Electronics and drivers by 
MEJ Electronics. Programming by 
Artisoft* Printer redirection, Prestel 
and TERMINAL by David Radi sic. 

File transfer (including the dubiously 
named SUCK & BLOW) by The Hairy 
Hacker, Concept by RP Consolidation 
and ROM housekeeping by Cliff. Edited 
by Ivor SpitaL Published by Amstrad 
and typeset by Kamset! Phew. Talk 
about a committee effort. It doesn't say 
who made the tea though. 


From CLIFF LAWSON 
MON 15 JUN 1987 17:57 


Do I really have to spell it out-.. 

j ROMCAT, -1 Signed, Cliff 

GeeefH Yes! You did! Did you spell all 
the names right? I thought it was Vic 
Oliver! 


From DAVID FOSTER 
WED 10 JUN 1987 20:55 


I can’t entirely agree with you about 
NSWP being quicker always. If I have a 


One of the most exciting areas for Amstrad debate is 
'Amsters Cage, an area on Nticronet's contributors 
section. You need a modem to contact it, but you can 
read some of the titbits of information in these pages. 
If you have a modem and a Micronet account then type 
*CAGE# to join in. 


number of.COM files I wish to set Read 
only and Sys, then 1 just type SET 
*.C0M (SYS RQ and bingo, all done. 
W T ith NSWP, unless I am mistaken, I 
have to load NSWP (optionally specify 
*.COM) f use W *COM, then Y and 
specify the flags I want set* 

That's fine, but it certainly isn’t 
quicker and if any of the files have 
other attributes set and they aren’t all 
the same, it will reset all those not 
specified. 

You have of course got a good example 
for your case with SET! What you seem 
not to acknowledge is that within the 
same prog you can tag those files with 
USER attribute 4 set, set them all to RO 
and then copy with CRC verification to 
another disc! Having done so, you can- 
erase them . 


From DAVID FOSTER 
THU 11 JUN 1987 01:25 


Great. 1 love copying programs to 
another disc* so that I can erase them! 
Only joking. I know what you w T ere 
trying to put over, 

I did concede that there are certain 
things which can more easily be done 
with NSWP, but my point was that 
many can foe done more simply with the 
supplied CP/M progs. 

Take PIP. With almost the same 
syntax I can copy files to different 
groups/d iscs/setid to the printer (with 
or without page breaksVsend to screen 
or RS232. I can split or join files/copy 


only those files changed since last time/ 
add line numbers/convert tabs to 
spaces/change lower to upper case and 
vice versa * 1 'verify files and much more. 
What other program can do all that 
and all for the effort of learning the 
meanings of about 2Q letters to use as 
parameters. Similarly DIR can be made 
to display the directory in whatever 
way you want. Signed, David 

/ agree that PIP is powerful, but / find 
the power AND versatility of NSWP is 
more real use than PIP f s ability to do 
things / never want to do! 


My CPM+ profile.sub copies pip, nswp 
& submit to the ram disc as well as a 
file containing the four bytes IB 45 IB 
48 It is called els and TYPEing it. clears 
the screen. 

The only way I could write it was by 
pip els=con:. On the other hand I would 
not give up NSW P’s tagging facility - 
saves a lot of typing. So I constantly use 
both. 

Nice point , John, / throw files a round a 
hell of a lot and find that the tagged 
copy with CRC is a great Hmesaver, 


From CLIFF LAWSON 
SAT 13 JUN 1987 15:57 


J was interested to see that you were 


From MR J H KAWNSLEY 
FRI 12 JUN 1987 19:33 


Page 42 


Amstrad User September 1987 
























































“astonished’ 7 at the idea that home 
computers might not exist in 10 years. 
The move to specialist machines for 
specialist jobs has already started. 

If you want DTP then you can do it 
on a PC but most serious systems are 
purpose built. Obviously you say that 
you wouldn’t buy a specialist machine 
for WP - cos you are a hobbyist, but 
they are a dying breed. 

Cast your mind back five years and 
you’ll remember that we all soldered 
our computers together from a kit and 
programmed the 256 bytes with a hex 
keypad. If such revolut ionary changes 
can occur in the last five years why 
shouldn’t we see even more remarkable 
changes in the next 10? 

The mam reason people buy an all¬ 
round PC or whatever to do a bit of 
everything at the moment, is, I believe, 
purely cos they can't get a cheap 
enough solution to each individual 
need. 


From M J HOWARD 
SUN 14 JUN 1987 19:58 


This is a new’ experience for me - dis¬ 
agreeing with Cliff. Not only can I not 
afford dedicated hardware for the vari¬ 
ous functions I use my 6128 for, but I 
would not. have sufficient space for the 
number of individual machines! Apart 
from which 1 thought we had already 
achieved a good, workable solution to 
specialisation with a thing called 
SOFTWARE. 

You know, you load your specialist- 
application into your bog-standard (?) 
PC or what not and off you go. In any 
event, at a practical level how do I get- 
all these things to talk to each other - 
through a standard RS232: standard?! 

I still believe that the "home" micro 
PC! or next generation will be the way 
forward for the home market. 

Of course there are yet more un¬ 
tapped markets for manufacturers to 
exploit, and many of those will be for 
dedicated applications, but the home 
micro market will"still exist and wilt 
still be lucrative for you and your boss. 

Bet you a quid in 16 years time 
Amstrad is still selling a general pur¬ 
pose computing system to home''small 
business users - and i’ll be buying it. 

Yes, I am sure you are right. Can you 
imagine even with the falling prices of 
gear buying a wordprocessor like Joyce, 
a comms terminal, a dedicated Data - 
base a CAD package and then per¬ 
suading them all to talk to each other! It 
would cost an arm and a leg: No, Cliff, I 
do hope that your bosses don't share 
your opinion. 

Amstrad User September 1987 


From ANGUS M FRASER 
MON 15 JUN 1987 18:49 


This afternoon my DD1 refused to 
accept the presence of a disc despite 
numerous attempts. Does anyone 
either a)know r what the problem can 
be? or bhnow of a reputable repair 
service, Its a bloody nuisance!! 

Ah idea at all. Cliff?? 1 have an even 
nastier one! I have had. three discs in the 
last few days corrupted! Just the Direc¬ 
tory I think . It happens in drive A but 
ONL V when drive B is connected. Now 
that isn't funny when compiling more 
that 180k of source! 


From ANGUS M FRASER 
MON 15 JUN 1987 23:14 


Further to previous mbx. After many 
attempts and fiddling with the insides, 
the Disc Missing Error became the 
Read Fail Error! Tried several discs 
after that, only to find all but three 
w^ould work., 

1 had to reformat one of these, but 
managed to salvage most of the other 
two. Ail had corrupted directories. 

I've no idea how it affected three 
discs as only one was actually inside the 
drive during its Disc Missing phase. As 
to the original problem, I’m totally per¬ 
plexed. 

Strange thing happened when 1 was 
trying to fix the directories using 
Otidjob’s Diredit. prog. 

After telling it is w r as drive A, it went 
whirr.'dunk and gave me the now usual 
“Read Fail, Re try .Ignore or Cancel’’ so I 
pressed C s expecting to be either reset 
or dropped back at the Which Drive 
prompt, instead it started listing the 
directory, so I was able to erase the 
affected files, Rather odd! 

You have described exactly what hap¬ 
pens to me. I did the same and wrote the 
corrupt sector back in hope for later. 


From MR S J SPICE 
MON 22 JUN 1987 19:58 


Ceui anyone help? I’m having trouble 
clearing the screen using HI SO FT C 
and the form-feed printing control; 
ASCII OCH under CP/M-K Any ideas? 

/ so detest their Editor that I will never 
use any of their compilers , so I fear I 
can't help! Is this on a CPC or PCW by 
the way? 

CPM+ uses ESC E to do a CLS and 
follow with cursor home ESC H. I do 


know PCW needs some help to do CLS 
but that’s all I remember , 


From MR T J THOMPSON 
TUE 23 JUN 1987 01:02 


My PC 1512 has just started acting up, I 
can’t get my printer to run with it any 
more. It keeps coming back with Write 
Fault error w r riting device PRN on the 
screen, but WWrriitt.ee ffaauullit. eer- 
roorr (etc) on the printer, I’ve tried 
another printer and lead; same prob¬ 
lem. Both printers fine on the Beeb so 
what’a up?? Anyone know a solution? 

OuchIf Sounds like an excellent diag¬ 
nosis!! Any idea Roland or Cliff? I hope 
no one else has had. same problem. 


From MR T J THOMPSON 
WED 24 JUN 1987 00:08 


Further to my PC 1512 printer problem, 

I have found that SHIFT PrtSc is per¬ 
fectly OK, I get. exactly what 1 see on 
the screen on paper, However, Ctrl P or 
COPY CON L'PTl all give Write Fault 
error writing device PRN. 

IVe also discovered that the 0 volt 
rail of the PC1512 is “floating’' at up to 
60 volts a.c. above mains earth (at a 
very high impedance). This 60 volts 
reduces to about 1 volt as you reduce 
the impedance to ground, but I still get 
a reading of 7mA to deck through the 
15mA AC range on my meter. 

This current flowing down my prin¬ 
ter cable to mains earth via the Ov lead 
may account for the sudden demise of 
part of my PC 1512 and the strange 
“hiccups” I get from both printers with 
PrtSc! 

Now I don’t want to. raise the 
earthing thing again (shades of BBC 
etc) but 1 am a little peeved that I seem 
to have “killed” at least one chip in my 
PC1512. Thank goodness I haven’t 
done anything to either printer. 

Has Cliff any ideas as to why PrtSc 
works, but Ctrl P does not? I can only 
sec strobe pulses when 1 use PrtSc, if 
that’s any help, Tim, 

Well, I’ve fixed my "faulty” PC 1512 by 
desoldering and replacing a 74LS244 lit 
was of course the fourth chip 1 replaced 
that had died). 

Now l can get back to playing with 
my new printer or dive inside my video 
which after seven years is starting to 
act. up too. Why do things all start 
going wrong at the same time? 

Late of Cosmic Cussedness (4th law of 
thermodynamicsL I may regale you 
with formal definition one day! 


ACL) 


Page 43 

































TASWORD 6128 

THE WORD PROCESSOR FOR IHEAMSTRAD CPC 6128 



TA 3 UQRD eie« 

jsss i;rtJ?s"EEsn. 


Print t»xt file 
print with t«t« nirilf 

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s*v# T»*Npri 

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into fi*IC 


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first IfsH *f W* imtlt *n) LMirfdfflUl Miff EU!9tll4« 
t.Hj' |ii. it ii j mm thins lilSWB h; t tuna ill m j:* 
facility fiw plI ■ Efi few LNf NhelasM innfe lut if :>♦ 
HFHtlri llin thil I lull lill IMI !<M ilMF [HTfll IP4 I 
KiPi (JM( mu iffh th*L thn ill in ilKMIHMtt, m 

iiM JfC.L itlt'J "1 ivu ^T]hj>ni; bFflFiiLM fir hTiilwiwi .:mk? 


Tas-diary 

THE ELECTRONIC DIARY_ 

TAS-DIARY for the Amstrad CPC 6128, 664 and 
464 w ith disc drive disc if 12-90 _ 

Keep an electronic day-to-day diary on disci 
TA5--DIARY features a dock, calendar and a 
separate screen display for every day of the 
year. Each year stored on disc includes a memo 
pad and several note pages. TAS-DIARY is «srr 
Invaluable aid to keeping records, reminders, 
and any other data which is related to that 
most valuable commodity of ours - timeI 

TASWORD 6128 

THE WORD PROCESSOR 


TASWORD 6128 for the Amstrad CPC 6128 
disc MIMS 

Brilliant value for money. 

AMSTRAD ACTION December 1985. 
A powerful and easy to use word processor and a 
superb da ta merge program. 

AM TIX December 1985 

TASWORD 6123 is the word processor especially 
developed to utilise the extra memory in the CPC 
6128 

The program uses ALL the additional 64K of memory 
in the CPC 6128 as text space. This means that text 
files can he around ten thousand words long. 
TASWORD 6128 includes a built-in data merge 
program. Mail merge, in which j letter is punted any 
number of times, each individually addressed to a 
different person, is just one of the applications of this 
powerful facility. 

The notepads are a unique feature o f TASWORD 
6128. Four separate notepads are available. Typing 
reminders and storing letter headings are just two 
possible applications for the notepa ds. 

Up to one thousand characters can be: stored in ten 
user de finable keys allowing commonly used words , 
sentences, or even paragraphs to be typed with a 
single keypress. 

TASWORD 6128 has comprehensive customisation 
features. These allow many of the program facilities 
to be changed to personal requirements. A 
customised program can be saved and includes the 
notepads and user definable keys. 

TASWORD 6128 is fully compa tible with TAS-SPEL L 
and TASPRINT. It will also read in data from 
Masterfile 6128. ft can even be used to enter and edit 
your o wn Basic programs.. 

With all standard and many extra word processing 
facilities TA5WORD6128is the most powerful of the 
TA5WORD5, for the Amstrad CPC computers. 


TASWORD464-D 

THE WORD PROCESSOR - Wl TH MAIL MERGE! 

TASWORD 464-D disc£24.95 


This is the new TASWORD especially developed to 
utilise the capabilities of the CPC 464 and 664 disc 
drives. The additional facilities included larger text file 
size and automatic on-screen disc directories 
during save and load operations. A major new 
feature is the mail merge facility. This gives multiple 
prints of your standard letters, forms , etc., with each 
copy containing, for example, a name and address 
automatically taken from a disc fiie containing the 
da ta. This data can be entered using TASWORD 
464-D, or created using the Masterfile Program 
Extension package- A powerful and useful 
conditional printing facility is included-parts of a 
documentcan be printed according to user-specified 
criteria. TASWORD 464-D will only run on, and is 
only supplied on, disc. 

Tas-spell 

THE SPELLING CHECKER 


TAS-SPELL disc £16.50 
for the Amstrad CPC464 and664 running 
TASWORD464-D and for the CPC 6128 running 
TASWORD 6128 

Spelling mistakes and typing errors spoil any 
document whether it is a priva te letter or you/ latest 
novel. With TAS-SPELL you are free to be creative in 
the confident knowledge tha tyour spelling won't le f 
you down. 

TAS-SPELL checks the spelling of TASWORD 464-D 
and TASWORD 612 8 text files. TAS-SPELL has a 
dictionary of well overtwenty thousand words which 
it compares with the words m your tojtf. If a word is 
not recognised then the relevant part of your text is 
displayed with the suspect word highlighted. Vby 
can correct the word, ignore ftOtmigh tbe a name), or 
even add it to the TAS-SPELL dictionary, 
please note that TAS-SPELL will only work with 
TASWORD464-D and TASWORD 6128. 


Tasword 

Upgrades 

TASWORD464andAmswOrd owners: send your 
original cassette or disc (not the packaging) as proof 
of purchase and 613.90. Your anginalvillbe 
returned together with TASWORD464-Dor 
TASWORD 6128 on disc. 


TASPRINT 464 

THE STYLE WRITER 

TASPRINT464 cassette £9.90 disc £12.90 


A must for dot-matrix print owners! Print vour 
program output and listings in a choice or five 
impressive print styles. TASPRINT464 utilises the 
graphics capabilities of dot-matrix printers to form, 
with a double pass of the printhead, output in a rang 


of five fonts varying from the futuristic DA TA-RUt 
to the hand- writing style of PALA CE SCRIPT. 
TASPRINT464 drives the dpt-matrix prin tor? listed 
below and can be used to pnnt AMSWORD/ 
TASWORD464 text files. TASPRINT464gives your 
output originality and style. Completely compatible 
with the664and6128.’ 


Tasword 464 

THE WORD PROCESSOR 

TASWORD464 cassette £t9*SS 

“ There is no better justification for buying a 
464 than this program" 

POPULAR COMPUTING WEEKL Y, 
NOVEMBER 1984 

Your464^ecomesa professional standard word 
processor with TASWORD 464. Supplied complete 
with a comprehensive manual and a cassette which 
contains both the program and TASWORD 464 
TUTOR. This teaches you word processing using 
TASWORD 464. Whether you have serious 
applica tions or simply want to learn about word 
processing, TASWORD464and the TUTOR make it 
easy and enjoyable. 

TaSCOPY 464 

THE SCREEN COPIER 

TASCOPY464 cassette £9.90 disc £11.90 

A suite of fast machine code screen copy software for 

the CPC464, 664 and 6128. Print hlgh-resoiutton 
screen copies in black and white ana also large 
'shielded' copies with dif ferent dot densities for the 
va nous screen colours. TASCOPY464 also produces 
’postersize' screen copies printed onto two or four 
sheets which can be cut and joined to make the 
poster. 

TASPRIN T 464 and TASCOPY464 drive the 
following dot-matrix printers: 

.IMWimw STMOMPSOtfifitS SW/MC?-#) 
TAU.YMTSO SWIHUtWS COiMOS^ 
EfSCXftXSO OTJMKAfJB?? DATACPAtftHff 
E?scmu:WTYPfi" HTCK&dataomiwH' 









































































TAS-SiGW 



All pnces include VAT 
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FOR THE CPC 6128 AND PCW825&8512 


TA 5 WORD PC The Ward Professor £2935 

TA5WORD PC Demonstration Disc £2.00 

TASPfON T PC with t-wenty five fonts and a font designer £2935 


f)/If W J TASWORD8000 The Word Processor £2435 

r*S 1 / 1 / TA$-SPttL 8000 The Spelling Checker £1&£0 

M \ J W V TASPRINT3000 The Style Writer (with 8 fonts) £14.90 


Produce and print your own signs, posters, 
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Assembly 
on the move 

A lot of ground has been covered on the 
writing of assembly language programs. 
This month Peter Green takes a look at 
running them. 


THROUGHOUT this series I’ve been 
giving assembly listings for useful 
subroutines or stand-alone programs 
with very little discussion about their 
positioning within the computer's 
memory. Now it's time to consider the 
problems involved in loading and 
running large and small machine code 
programs. 

The Assembly Point programs are all 
relatively short (yes, even the 
marathon triangle routine) and present 
no real trouble. If you flip hack through 
the listings (you do cut out and keep 
them, don’t you?), you’ll see that, apart 
from a couple of special cases, they ait 
start with ORG &80G0. 

The word ORG is not a Z8G 
mnemonic and does not generate a 
machine code instruction when the 
source code is assembled. Rather, it is a 
message (or DIRECTIVE) to the 
assembler which tells it that the 
machine code mnemonics that follow 
are to be generated to run starting 
from address &8000. 

For example, a listing that began; 


,SCR_$ET_MQDE EQU £B£0£ 

ORG £8000 

LD M 
CALL 


More mnemonics 


would be turned into a set of five 
hexadecimal numbers in memory lo¬ 
cations &8000 to &8GQ4, thus: 


nm 

S3E 

MM 

;0p 

code for LD A 




i wnedi3t&. 




plus 

the nimber "T b 

um 

flCD 

£t! e m 

;0p 

cede for CALL, 




plus 

address pi 




supf 

out t ne with Low 




byte 

first (the lfi-0 




does 

things that 




way! 

) 

SSH0S 



; M-Or 

e code... 


If you now CALL &800G from Basic, 
or jump to it from your assembler 
menu, the ZSO chip will start to execute 
the machine code instructions it finds 
at location &.8000, and the screen will 
clear to Mode 1. 

Incidentally, the EQU in the above 
example is another assembler directive, 
meaning "■whenever you see the phrase 
SCR—SET—MODE in the listing, 
produce the address &BC0E in the 
machine code”. As five pointed out 
before, this use of labels makes pro¬ 
grams easier to write, and much easier 
to read through afterwards, 

Pick a number 

You may wonder why I always choose 
&80G0 as my starting address. Well, 

Page 46 


it’s just that for speed of development 
on programs this size, I obviously want 
to keep both the source code (assembly 
listing) and the object code (the 
machine code program) in memory at 
the same time. 

This means that I can assemble the 
source, test it, and after noting any 
bugs, return to the source and edit it 
ready for a new 7 test. (This assumes 
that the bugs weren’t so fatal as to 
crash the machine, and that I remem¬ 
bered to include a way to get out of the 
machine code. Remember Basic only 
responds to the pressing of the ESC key 
because it’s programmed to,) 

The assembler I use is Arnor’s 
Maxam in ram, which means t still 
have most of my Amstrad’s memory 
free. Maxam source code is held in 
memory starting at the bottom of the 
Basic area, address &170, 

By using ORG &80G0, I have almost 
all the bottom 32K free for my source 
text.; and there’s about 8K free for the 
machine code after allowing for the 
screen, firmware area and reserved 
ram workspace for my external rams, 
such as Maxam, Protext and the disc 
drives. Another point is that, during 
testing, &.8GQQ is a nice easy number to 
remember as an address to call. 

The more it grows ... 

This is all very well for the smaller pro¬ 
gram, but w T hat happens when you 
start getting ambitious, and reach the 
point where there simply isn’t, enough 
memory for both the source and object 
cade to reside in the computer at the 
same time? 

It becomes necessary to make use of 
either the cassette or disc filing system, 
through the READ and WRITE direc¬ 
tives (on Maxam - other assemblers 
may have the functions but call them 
different names. Check your manual). 

The first option is to keep the source 
code on tape or disc, read it in line by 
line as required by the assembler, and 
generate the machine code in memory. 
It probably won’t astound you too much 
to find that the READ directive does 


this job. In fact, using READ means 
that the actual source in memory can 
be as brief as: 


ORG £170 
RE AD parti' 
$EAD part?' 
READ part3 H 
READ par14‘ 
END 


with as many separate source files as 
you like, This approach is better suited 
to disc-based systems, though. Most 
assemblers require two passes through 
the source code - the first to establish 
the addresses of all the labels used, the 
second to generate the machine code. 

With a disc system this is transpar¬ 
ent to the user, but cassette owners will 
need to rewind the tape back to the 
start for the second pass. Worse, a 
really big piece of code can take a 
couple of minutes to assemble even 
from disc. Cassette users will find this 
method unbearably slow and boring. 

The write stuff 

The second alternative is to keep the 
source file in memory and write the 
object code to the filing system as it is 
generated during the second pass, A 
trivial example: 


ORG wm 

,T * OUT PUT EQU £B65A 

MITE ’trivial" 

LD HLymessage 

.print 
LD Ay(HU 
INC HL 
0» A 
RET l 

CALL 7XTJHITPUI 
JR print 

.nessage 

TEXT ’This is a trivia-, eirampLe*", 13,10,0 
END 


Aims trad User September 1987 


















programming! 


This approach is rather more limited 
than the previous one, because it 
restricts the source code size to a 
maximum of 39K or so on an Amstrad, 
If you write like I do. with copious com¬ 
ments so that 1 can remember what a 
piece of code is supposed to do, then a 
big program will require very big 
source files. 

Since the assembler needs ram 
workspace to hold its table of labels and 
their corresponding values, it may be 
that your memory-filling game “Mega 
Pac Invaders From Beyond the Mutant 
Ninja Camels” creates a situation 
where neither the source nor object 
files can be kept in memory. Then you’ll 
have to combine both the above ap¬ 
proaches, thus: 


GRG 

feiRITE 'very oig' 
READ Vgl" 

READ 'big2" 

READ 'big3" 

READ 'big A' 

E-SID 


Bear in mind that this method of 
reading in the source code from a disc 
file, and writing the object code out to 
disc as it is created, may he the only 
option you're allowed under some 
assemblers, especially on bigger 


machines such as the IBM F J C and its 
clones where everyone has a disc drive, 

The Amstrad filing system, whether 
cassette or AMSdos, now presents ue 
with a further problem. There are two 
ways of writing a block of code to the 
cassette or disc. 

If the code exists as a complete block 
in memory (ie you assembled into 
memory, instead of using the WRITE 
directive), then you can use the CAS 
OUT DIRECT entry in the firmware, 
from Basic with SAVE “file¬ 
name”, B,start,length, entry; with an 
RSX like Amor’s 1 SAVE; or with 
your own machine code save routine. 
This method lets you insert the load 
address and entry address into the file 
header, and the code can now he run 
directly from Basic using RUN 
“filename”. 

However, when a machine code pro¬ 
gram is generated byte by byte using 
WRITE, the firmware insists that the 
CAS OUT CHAR entry is used, to write 
the file to disc or tape one byte at a 
time, 

CAS OUT CHAR doesn’t allow either 
the required load or entry address to be 
added to the header, so the resulting 
file cannot be run in its own right. The 
Amstrad can’t tel! where it should be 
loaded, or where it should be entered. 

In this case, you have two options. 


First., you could write a small separate 
loader program (either Basic or 
machine code), which in turn loads the 
bigger program into the right memory 
locations and jumps to it. 

Obviously this loader should not be 
at a position in memory where the 
second program will load over it (unless 
you’re trying little tricks to defeat- 
hackers, as in the Spindizzy tape 
loader). Somewhere around the top of 
the stack area, &BF00ish for example, 
would be a good choice for a short 
machine code loader. 

Your second choice is to run the file 
(generated using WRITE) through a 
“conditioner”, which loads the machine 
code where it ought to go, then resaves 
it using CAS OUT DIRECT so that the 
proper header values can bo inserted. 

Listing I gives such a routine, safely 
located outside the region where any 
well-behaved program could be 
expected to run. The actual values for 
start, length and entry-point will all be 
given by the assembler when it 
WRITES the file to be processed, length 
being (end address - start address). 

Of course, dedicated hackers who 
love calculating checksums would prob¬ 
ably prefer to convert the header by 
directly altering it, on disc, using a disc 


sector editor. But then 
hackers are all crazy ... 


acu 


listing i 



call cas-OUT-Qpen 

;0pen file for output 




JR ftC,e J rror 

;but srip if error occurred 

(H& &BF0O 



LD ML,start 

;Start of code t 

♦buffer 

EQU 

&C0SJ0 ;Michi as well use screen nenory as 


;Qpen fiLe tor output 



jnuffer, to m&4e sure it's away 

JR NC,error 

;but srip if error occurred 



;fron the orogran to he converted 

U> HL,start 

;Start of code t 
;0per file for output 

.m.OUTPUT 

EQL 


JR NCjOrror 

;but skip if error occurred 




LD HLjStart 

;Star" of code to save 

,CA£_I OPEtl 

m 

86C77 

LD DE,Length 

'Length of code to save 

.CAS-IN-CLDSE 

E9U 

SBC 7 A 

LD BC ,encr>*_ptiin* 

;Address to start running the coae 

.{A&JOBANMN 

EQL 

SBC7D 


;Coften same as 'start', but not 

.CAS IK DIRECT 

EQL 

&BC-B3 

LD A,2 

;netessari Ly) 

;Hark file type as ’binary' 

.CASJJMLOPEN 

m 

&GC&C 



.CA&_0UT CLOSE 

EQJ 

EBC8F 

CALL CAS OUT. DIRECT 

;Save the file fro™ iietory 

,CA.5_QUlJtBANBQN 

EQU 

mn 

JR NC,error 

;Skip if error 

.CASJHJOmCT 

EQU 

&BC9S 

CALL CAS.OUT.CLDSE 

;C lose the Output '\ Le 

LD M 


;Number of characters in the fiLenane 
;alter to suit 

RET C 

;Quit if no error 

LD HLyfiUnm 


;Address of naite of program to con-vert 

.error 


LD DE,buffer 


;Buffer arte, 2K in size 

CALL CASJO&ANBCN 

;Mark both the input stream 

CALI CAS IN OPEN 


f Open fiLe for incut 

CALL CAODLA&AKDON 

;and output stream 55 closed 

J8 NC,error 


;but skip if error occurred 

LD Ml,err.message 


LD HL,start 


^Override ^correct Load address in 

.print 




;old header by using required loao 

LD A,(HL) 




;acdress (your ORG in the original 

INC HL 




;sourge code) 

OR A 


call rus-iomcr 

; Load the f i Le into rceitory 

RET l 


JR terror 


;Skip if error 

■ CALL TXOUTPUT 

JR print 


CALL CLOSE 

; C Lose tfi e input f l U 



JR NC,error 


;5kip if error 

.err_nessage 

TEXT ERROR' ! F,13,10,0 


LD B,l 


;Again, number of characters in the 

*f i Lenane 




;fiLena re 

TEXT 'SAMPLE’ 

;sanple fiLe^ame, 6 letters .ong 

LD HLj.fi i&nane 


;Address of nans of program to convert 



LD DE,buffer 


;Buffer area, 2< in siae 

EkD 



Amstrad User September 1987 Rage 47 




































FEATURE 






ips 


... 

!i '■ 


'iim 


.■■■■ 


..l.lj j 1111 ll 1 111 ! 11 .” 1 . 1 . * ! i; ■ . ■ . ■■■ .; ;! ; . ■■ . ■ . ■■■■! ■' . ' 

■ ::::: ;:::■ :::::• :::::: ::: ■ 

■■■■ . ::::: :::: :: ::: 

r...:: : :::: . ■■■". 


w 



WE all have weaknesses. Sonic 
drink too muchf some smoke, some vote 
Labour and some, Fm told, dojall t.hree. 

I gamble. It takes the combined 
might of the Four Horseman of the 
Apocalypse to steer me past, a casino 
without at least one limb poking 
through the door in a bid to find out 
about membership fees, 

Over the years, my penchant for the 
gentlemanly game of blackjack has cost 
many Harold Melvins yet still, once the 
Heinekin has refreshed the wallet, off I 
toddle for an appointment with Ming, 
the God of everything that can go 
wrong in life. 

Without question, the worst, loss I 
ever suffered was at the Black and 
White Ball at the Cafe Royal some 
three or four years ago. 

Some wise bottomed organiser had 
Lie creed that blackjack tables should be 
erected but they ’dr forgotten to order 
the Horsemen to keep my grubby paws 
out. of the gaming area; 

Thus, there I was betting away like 
crazy with the £5 worth of 25p chips I’d 
bought. To begin J with, I won. And I 
kept on winning uptll the poor dear 
behind the table was forced to write out 
an iou because she’d run out of chips. 

I have felt elatioij)ike that before but 
only rarely, I felt it.when Red Alligator 
won the Grand National. I felt it when I 
passed my driving test. I felt, it when I 
cast my virginity twthe four winds. 

But I came back down to Earth with 
all the ferocity of a buffalo in a 
balaclava when the kindly cashier 
announced I hadrft»von a penny and 
that by coining in £400 or so, I had 
merely won a prize., I providing no-one 
won more which wtos an unlikely 
scenario seeing as 1 had all the chips 
they’d brought. 

It turned out my £5 stake had simply 
been a donation to sortie children’s 


charity and I had been playing for fun. 
It is likely that the champagne bottle 1 
inserted up the nose ftf that dear 
gentlemen is still there. 

1 don't even like children, Until 
they’re two they are small pink and 
flatulent. Afterwards, they'become big, 
pink and noisy. Then they buy 
motorbikes and terrorise the neigh¬ 
bours by doing wheelies and things. 
And to think 1 gave them £5. ft makes 
me mad. 

What really rubs salt in the gaping 
wounds is that my prize was one of 
those steam powered Atari video game 





Jeremy Clarkson ponders on his 
in particular Ball Breaker, 


whatsits which Fd seen for sale at 
about £90, I could have bought four 
with my winnings. Perhaps I should 
have pushed the cash register up his 
other nostril. 

This Atari, however, introduced me 
for the first time, to games I could play; 
the secret being that you only need to 
make minute movements in order to be 
very good. 

In football, cricket or hockey for 
instance, all four limbs are necessary 
for one to have a chance of not being 
ridiculed in the showers afterwards, 
And I simply cannot coordinate more 
than two muscles at once. 

This explains why I am a quite awful 
driver and why. w r hen I once took a 
penalty during a game of football, the 
nearest the bail got to the goal mouth 
was when it was on the spot. 

Space invader type games, however, 
require the use of only two or th|de 
fingers and I can do that. Sort, of, ^ 

There w r as one, a game jC>lled 
Scramble, in my local pub wh^n took, 
oh it must have been one hundred of 
my pounds over the years,I became 


so good, I could play it for ever and 
could never be beaten till my beer went 
flat. 

Comparing this type of game to the 
Atari did, however, instil in my bonce 
the notion that the home computer 
type video game is a fuzzy mish mash of 
simplistic nonsense and that the real 
games for arcade groupies like my good 
self could only be found in the corners 
of pubs that have rust round the optics 
on their gin bottles. 

To a certain extent, I still believe this 
is so even though Fve spent the last 
week glued to the screen of my 
Amstrad playing what Fm told are a 
selection of state of the art home 


t 



games. 

‘phone has rung, people have 
fed on the door and I have ignored 
-educe of she who is able to create 
culinary masterpiece from two bits of 
old lemon peel and half a can of Lassie. 
These, you see, are trivialities to a man 
who is desperately trying to find out 
just who it was that mucked up his 
spaceship and warped space. Whatever 
that means. 


S 


s 


Page 48 


Amstrad User September 1987 


















.. .'..[UimUJJMlWMMWmi l •■ ■■■ ■ ■ n»ua. ■ ■ ■ m i ni , 1 , 1 , I I L 

; FEATURE 

. . . ■ ■ ■ _ ■ 

.■' . ... • . .. —■-—— : 



I couldn’t concentrate on the game 
properly. 

Secondly, the whole thing is laid out 
in 3D which made my eyes go funny 
and thirdly, in order to get from stage 
one to stage two, which 1 managed only 
once, you have to sacrifice a life which 
seems a bit dire. 

Only moments after reaching stage 
two, 1 was gobbled up by a large, green 
frog which seemed a fitting end to a 
rather poor game. 

Krakout is much better largely 
because, before the whole caboodle 
kicks oft'in a flurry of song, players are 
asked to choose the level of difficulty 
they think they can handle. 

To begin with, thereto time to hit. the 
ball, make a cup of coffee, drink it, see a 
film and be back at the screen in time 
to hit it again. 

As my confidence grew, I asked for 
the most difficult level. On this exalted 
plinth, 1 saw a brief flurry of graphics 
then the screen informed me the game 
was over. 


feelings for computer games, 
Krakout and Arkanoid. 


f 


i have been frying to learn the 
intricacies of three games, all of which 
cost, about £9 in cassette format and all 
of which run along a similar theme. 

The idea is that you control a bat and 
knock a bail against a series of whatsits 
in order to reach a more difficult level. 

I can start off straight away by 
revealing that Arkanoid is by far and 
aw r ay the best, 

Krakout has ill defined graphics and 
a sort of Tangerine Dream sound track 
while Ballhreaker is bloody impossible. 

1 shall therefore begin with the best. 
Arkanoid is derived from an arcade 
game and is clever in that the picture is 
border free and well defined. 

The game itself is perhaps nothing 
too remarkable until level three 
anyway which is as far as 1 can get. 
However, it does have drawbacks. 

There is an interminable wait before 
games commence and to keep us 
“entertained”, the machine plays awful 
music which is quite out of keeping 
with the legend that rolls across the 
screen, 

"The time and era ftautology) of this 



blah blah 


blah blah blah are u 
trapped in space wa 
it says. 

For a kick off, thi 
of script you exp' 
some dreadful sci fi 
is spoken by that A 
character who earns a mi 
Denim commercial mnd the li 

It just doesn't Fit the rinky dinky, 
Radio Two type 


meone 

s exact% ! the so 
n the trailer for 
lm and Beually ill 
rrican Mr Kipling 
frol 



IS1C 


that Accord- 
some lay of 


pauses it. If there 
collanderising it, I 
for the next year o 
for calls of nature. 

While this music 
lengthy, the sound! 
is absolutely terribl 
meet the man who 
like to gouge out his 
telephone. 

For a start, it sounds just like eve 
record in the charts at present with its 
pounding disco beakcoupled to an 
endless noisy monotony. If you lik 
Houston Whitney or whatever that, hi 
lipped woman is called,Iron would prob¬ 
ably enjoy it but I don't and, as a result 


ild play Arkanoid 
two, pa using, only 

incongruous .and 
kon BaUbre'ajkur 
I should like t| 
rote it, I should 
es with a mo&iJe 


lu 

w 


It was a bit like asking Nicholas 
Witch el i t that orange haired news¬ 
reader, to don a blindfold and take on 
Mike Tyson. 

In the intermediate stages, the game 
progresses well though with more than 
a hint of 7j.?j?z? r If you can get your ball 
und the back of the objects you’re 
ring to hit, it just ricochets around 
h gay abandon, doing all the dirty 
wbrk without the player having to do a 
damn thing. ^ 

Of course, it does have a habit of 
nging back in four direction just 
your eyes have'strayed from the 
scr %■ through the window and on to a 
pretty girl who ijj or ought to be, on her 
way to a bra shop. 

Further more ^.there v^ere occasions in 
Krakgpt whenjj hit thwball with my 
informed with all the 
the wall tksh dispenser 
t, M 

atest in Barclay^ 
tjere’s no arguing. You 
d fume while it plays 
from its limited 
m repertory! 
mind that a car is a car 
you're askedio choose 
her have; a Ferrari, a 
r a Yugo, you wouldn’t 
Bifficulty finding the 


’bat r to 
tact o 

that Pti liss 
Like the 
technol 
have 
another 
Tangerin 
If you b 
is a car an 
which you 
Nissan Che 
have muc 



answer. 

Choosing between these three games 
involves the same level of brain strain. 


JU 

I 

m 


ACU 


Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 49 












PROGRAMMING 


Investigating 












.V %-, ■ ■ 



wpppya'.ozo 

x::cco:’:: 




F . -i-i 


::::: 



: : 

' 1 : : : ■ ::: ... 


i 





:■= 


, 




CPC roms 


Richard Sargent looks at the workings 

of add-on roms for 
the CPC, and 
how to make 
them work 
for you 



ROMS, like small children, should be 
seen and not heard. (Hey that's a bit 
ageist -Ed). OK, they should be recog¬ 
nised (at least by the computer), they 
should work (with all CPC models) and 
they should not clash with one another. 

Most of the time they behave them¬ 
selves, and this is particularly so of the 
internal roms. Rom 0 (Basic) on the 464 
and roms 0 (Basic) and 7 (CP/M) on the 
6128. If they didn’t, work the computer 
would be dead anyway. So you take 
them for granted and perhaps 0 C“ 
casionally use routines inside them by 
calling a jumpblock address taken from 
the Firmware Spec. 

No fixed address 

The sideways roms, those which hang 
out of the back of the computer and 
which you have to buy, are much more 
interesting because they have to he 
fitted in a rom slot of your choice. And 
you get a manual with the rom which 
explains all the glorious i commands 
available. 

You are not told the addresses of the 
S routines because they may change 
from one month to the next as newer 
versions of the same rom are produced. 
Writing and debugging software takes 
time - rom wasn’t built in a day. 

Exactly why you may need to obtain 
and use* quite legally, the starting 
address of one of more routines in side¬ 
ways rom will become clear in a 
moment. 

Collecting roms is habit-forming. 
You need a rom box to house just one 
ofT-the-shclf rom, and this peripheral is 


;LISTING 1 

;INVESTIGATE A SIDEUAVG Ran 
;BY MOVING ITS CONTENTS TO &403E 

m ££000 

DI 

LD C,2 ; INVESTIGATE Rom NUPBEK l 

CALL &B90F 
PUSH BC 
LD 
LD 

LD B{,&4&00 

LDIP 

POP BC 

CALL &B91B ;RESTORE UPPER Ran 

El 

RET 

Listing I 
Page 50 


likely to have six or eight blank rom 
sockets in it. No hardened hacker can 
stare at an empty socket for long - to 
the computer techie it’s like a newly 
hatched chick, mouth open ready to be 
filled. The purchase of roms tends to 
accelerate to fill the space available. 

Before long you will find you have a 
rom with a (HELP command which 
lists all your roms, and a 1 HELP,n 
command which will list all the I com¬ 
mands of rom number n. 1 HELP,n is 
provided as a memory aid to relieve you 
of the need to consult the manual. (It in 
not - there to allow you to pirate the 
software without the instructions - Ed). 

Assuming you have a i HELP 
command, typing l HELP,7 lists the 14 
commands of the CP/M rom, which are 
i CF J M, s DISC, 3 TAPE and so on. List¬ 
ing II prints the command names and 
the addresses of commands from rom n, 
and so takes us a little further forward, 

A spare time job 

Since machine code can be incorporated 
efficiently into the Amstrad’s interrupt 
structure, it only requires a small 
amount of code to enable a rom routine 
of your choice to be executed as an 
interrupt. Then the program can be 
interrupted, a sideways rom routine 
run, and the original program re¬ 
started. 

There is one sideways rorn routine 
which is ideal for the interrupt appli¬ 


cation: The graphics screen dump. 
Before seeing how to get. at such a 
dump (for example, there’s one in the 
Superpower’s Toolbox rom and another 
in Arnor’s Utopia rom i. we must first 
see how to take a look into these side¬ 
ways roms. 

Basic's PEEK doesn’t work, since 
PEEK only ever looks at ram between 
0000 and &FFFF. The solution is to 
move the contents of the rom into main 
memory. The starting address of all 
upper roms (the sideways roms, Basic 
and CP'M) is &COQ0 and they are all 
16k or &4000 bytes in size. 

Moving the entire 16k to location 
&40QQ takes but a moment in machine 
code - this job is performed by Listing 1. 
As soon as the rom has been relocated 
at &4000 it can be examined. 

Listing II contains the code of Listing 
I and will first move the rom of your 
choice to &4000, then go on to find and 
print the rom version number, the com¬ 
mands and command addresses. Don’t 
try it with rom 0 though - there are no 
I commands listed for the Basic Rom. 

If you have no I HELP on your com¬ 
puter, you will need to physically ex¬ 
amine your rom box or the relevant 
manual to ascertain which rom 
occupies which position. On the 464 the 
legal positions are 1-6 and on the 6128 
they are 1-6 and 8-15,. 

The Basic program will prompt you 
to tell it which rom you wish to inves¬ 
tigate and it will ask you whether you 

Amstrad User September 1987 





































100 'LISTING 2 

110 'THIS PROGRAM PRINTS CONHANDS AND 
AD-DRESSES FR-Oh A SIDEWAYS ROM 
120- REMORA &3FFF RESTORE 160: Dir^ Ltffl 
0hL=fl 

1J0 MODE 1:PRINT 'TYPE 0 FOft SCREEN t 
1 SPLAT DR 

Ufl PRINT 1 8 FOR HARD C&Plf:INPUT 

N 

1 50 FOR A=Sfl0ES TO 17:ftEAD AS'POKE 

A,VAL("B"+AS): NEXT 

160 DMA F3^0E^02,CD,0F jr B9 # -CS,1 T,00^4 
0,2M(,C0 

170 DATA 01,&0,4MMMUCE),-1MV 
B,09,00,00 

1S0 CLSTINPUT "ADDRESS OF R on 2,CD,0F 

,B9,C5,11,0G,40,21,00,C0 

170 DATA 01,00,4MMMMM8,e9,f 

5,09,00,00 

m CIS; INPUT 'ADDRESS OF RofT 2,CMF 
,09,C5,11,00,40,21,00, 

170 DATA 01,0M8,ED,B&,CUMMM 
B,C9,@0,00 


Listing II 


180 CIS; INPUT "ADDRESS OF Rom 1-7'; A: 
POKE &8&02,A 

190 CLS:PRINT in/Ron";A;'Version ;t 
CALL && 00 &:A=fi 3 fTF:C=E 
200 PRINT #MHSS((P£EK {84001 )+ 48 )>r 
CHftlGPEEK 184002 )+ 48 )); 

210 PRINT #n,CHRSUPEEKlg 4003 }MB)):P 
RI NT *n;A=S 4&06 

220 C-C-1 :rt=HE)($(PEEKrA+2),2);5i-HE* 
$(PEEK(A + 1 ), 2 ?;L$£U = rS+sl:L=L+ 1 :A"A 
+3 

230 IF PEEKC D-&C 3 THEN GOTO 220 
m L= 0 :FOR B =1 TO E:POINT #a,LS( 1 );' 
:L=L+t 

250 Y=PEEK(A>:IF V>& 7 F THEN V’V*Sfl 0 :P 
PINT #n,CHRJ(\l); lA'A +1 :G.OT 0 280 
260 PRINT #n,{Hlt$m;:A-A+ 1 :GOTD 250 


m NEXT:5TDP 

280 IF K32 THEN PRINT In/generaL co 
dfl foLlous*.*.':STQP 
290 PRINT tfrcGUTO 273 


want screen or hard-copy output of the 
com maud list. 

Back to the dump 

Returning now to those specific screen 
dump commands* Listing 11 reports 
that Utopia has the 1 GDUMP 
command at &F67E and Toolbox has 
i DUMP at &C8S8. Mote that any 
other addresses reported will be valid — 
the difference simply means that the 
rom has been rearranged since I 
bought my versions. 

Now land carefully coached by the 
firmware spec) we can carry out the 
equivalent of Basic’s \ GDUMF in 
machine code. Assuming you have the 
relevant rom in position number 2 the 
code is^ 

* # 

LD C,Z:L» KL,&F6?E:JP 80318 

Go to the bottom of the class if you 
thought it should have been CALL 
&F67E, Once again, the operating 
system needs to be told the rom and the 
address of the routine you're interested 
in, hence load C and load HL. 

Getting to the code 

However, the three instructions act 
just like CALI. GDUMP. CALL &F67E 
on the other hand rushes off to screen 
ram and promptly crashes the 
Amstrad. Load register C with a differ¬ 
ent number for a different rom and load 
register HL with a different address for 
a different, routine. 

Note that on returning from the call, 
all registers and flags are as set by the 
target routine and register IV points to 
the rom’s data area. You must save all 
registers which you wish to preserve 
before calling the rom routine, 

The machine code needed to put the 
GDUMP routine tor any other side¬ 
ways rom routine) into an interrupt 
handler comes in four short modules, as 
in Listing Ill. They are placed at 
address &920Q and sit there seemingly 
doing nothing much at all. The code is 
consulted 50 times a second and is 
keeping an eye on key ft) to see if it is 
pressed. 

Rom turn on 

Module one ISR_ON contains the code 
which tells the Amstrad to add a new 
routine to its list of events which it is 
currently servicing at the 2 millisecond 
interrupt rate. The new routine is 
called ISR and is officially logged into 
the system by calling 1SR_0N, (CALL 
&9220L 

Module ISR_OFF removes I SR from 
the system, so CALL ISR_OFF, (CALL 

Amstrad User September 1987 


&.922E) restores normality. (As soon as 
we are sure what is normal anyway - 
Ed). 

The 1SR module is the Interrupt 
Service Routine. U scans the keyboard 
and considers whether function key ft) 
has been pressed. All the ZbO registers 
are saved - this is essential as the com¬ 
puter would crash if it were not done. 

After all the PUSHs, a CALL to the 
firmware routine &BR1E establishes 
whether the key fU (code 15) has been 


pressed. 

If it hasn’t an immediate exit from 
the interrupt routine is made via label 
KFIN and the I SR routine has done its 
job in no time at all If, on the other 
hand, the correct function key is 
pressed, a jump is made to TEST 
ROUTINE. This is a routine in 
Amstrad’s lower rom which doesn’t do 
anything too drastic {it clears the 
screen) and it is useful for test pur¬ 
poses, TEST_ROUTINE is a simple 


;LISTING 3 

POP HL 


POP AF 

; ISR HAS 4 MODULES, 1) ISR 

El 

; 2) ISR.ON 

RET 

; 3) I&.ROFF 


; 6) RotJOUTINE 

1%R UN LD HL,TICK-BLOCK 


LD 0,801 

ORG 89700 

LD C,0 


u n f m 

ISR DI 

CALL S8CD7 ; Kt_MEIr_FRAHE_FLf 

PUSH AF 

RET 

PUSH HL 


PUSH SE 

ISR-OFF LD HL,TICK-SLACK 

PUSH BC 

CALL 88CDD ; KL_DEL.fftAWE.FLY 

PUSH IK 

RET 

push ir 


LD HLjKFiN 

TICK-BLOCK PS 9 ^CRATCH RAM SPACE 

PUSH HL 


LD A,IS ;F0 ON KETPAD 

RROUTINE LD C,2 ;UHICH Rom ? 

CALL 8B61E ;PRESSED ?? 

LD HL,m?E ;WHICH ADDRESS 7 

JP NZ,TEST-ROUTINE 

JP 10018 ; KLF AR-PCHL -- GO T 

;or jp nzro«_routine 

HERE ! 

POP HL 


KFIN POP 1Y 

TEST-ROUTINE JP &BC14 ;SCR_CL£AR - 

POP IX 

(10 THERE ! 

POP BC 


POP 9E 

END 


Listing HI 


Page 51 


















-— - - 1 


PROGRAMMING | 

1 

.;r :: 

1 . ::::: 

-------. .. 


-, c . - 




JUMP but because the ZSO stack has 
been fiddled (see the assembler instruc¬ 
tion LD HL,KFIN: PUSH Hl ) the jump acts as 
a CALL which returns to the KFIN 
label. 

Any jump can be placed at label 
TEST_ROUTINE, including jumps to 
your own machine code subroutines. 
However, as it stands, Listing TV loads 
the screen-clearing routine, so every 
time you press fO, regardless of what 
the computer happens to be doing at 
the time, the screen should 
immediately clear. 

Choosing your code 

If this works, you have entered the code 
correctly and can start experimenting. 
Turn the ISR off with CALL &922K for 
GOTO 250 if Listing IV is still in 
memory) and set about altering line 
100, and possibly lines 200 and 220, 
The data on line 160 becomes 3E. This 
substitutes the Rom ROLITINE for the 
T E ST_ROUT INE. 

If the rom number you are going to 
use isn't 2, alter the data on line 200. 
Next alter the data on line 220 to the 


address of the rom routine. Note the 
address is printed with the low byte 
first, so leave it as 7E,F6 for Utopia’s 
GDUMP but change it to 88.C8 for 
Toolbox’s DUMP command. 

Run Listing IV and the altered code 
will he entered into memory: The ISR 
will be logged on f and henceforth 
whenever you press key ft) you should 
get- a screen dump on your printer 
regardless of what the computer is 
doing. If the screen happens to be con¬ 


stantly changing, you get a snapshot of 
the screen as it appeared the instant ft) 
was pressed. 

There are some limitations to this. 
Most commercial software will be upset 
by your interrupt routine, so don't 
expect to be able to dump a screen from 
a top 20 game. And some rom routines 
cannot be called from inside an 
interrupt, notably disc commands 
which use an interrupt themselves. 


ACU 


100 ■LISTING 4 

110 THIS PftQGRnfl CREATES THE ISR m 
AT89200 

120 HEMORr B9"1FF:RESTORE 150 

130 FOR A=39Z00 TO 8924S 

HB READ AS :PQ£E A,ML(T*At) :NEXT 

150 DATA F3,f5,£5,05,15,ftD,ES,FD,E5,2 

1,1M2#E5#JMF,Ct,lE,BB,C2 

160 DATA 46 

170 DATA ?2,£1,FD,E1,D&,E1,C1,D1,E1,F 


Listing FV 


1, FB,C9 

160 DATA 21,35,92,06,81,0E,00,11,00,9 

2, CD,P7,BC,C9 

190 DATA 21,35,92,CB,DMC,C9,00,00,0 

MMMMMMME 

200 DATA 02 

210 DATA 21 

220 DATA ?E,F6 

230 DATA C3,1B,00,C3,U,BC 

240 CALL S9223:STOP:R£H 1SR.0N 

250 CALL 8922F:ST0P:*EP ISRJTFF 




MONEY MANAGER PLUS £39.95 

For all PC compatibles, such as Amstrad PC 1512 Also available for Amstrad PCW computers. ^ ^^ 

Financial management software 

For Small businesses Salf-emptoywJ Doctors Farmers 

Sates Executives Journalists Clubs ' Charities 

Company Departments Expense accounts Home accounts Etc, Etc. 

Honey Manager Plus is an easy-to-use yet powerful accounting system. it will enable you to record and analyse all your financial transactions, so thal you know exactly 
where you stand and ban make sensible and informed financial decisions. Check bank statements, monitor cash How. analyse sources of income and expenditure, make 
budget forecasts, prepare HnangiaJ statements. Keep one step ahead oi your ban k manager, convince lax and VAT inspectors, avoid nasty surprises! 

Honey Manager Plus every much easier and more direct lo use than olher accounting systems costing many times more, and provides features that would be 
difficult or tei posable to program using sophisticated tfatabase/speadsheevgraphics packages. Indefinite telephone support is included free of charge, because even 
novice computer users repu ire so little! 

To run toe system you just switch on, load Money Manager Plus, select a data file, make new entries in any order that sui ts you (or amend existing entries), produce a 
few reports to check the current financial situation, and then save the data for the next time you need to use it Von may have any number of oata li les (or sets d! 
accounts) and store several on one disc. A data file contai ns 12 months of data, which may be rolled forward month by month. 


Plus: Standing Orders Entries optionally sorted into date order Item search facility 

Comprehensive Manual Two sets of realistic practice data Indefinite free telephone support 

Money Manager Plus isa development of the successful Money Manager system, of which ever 6000 have been sold- It Is faster, has a greater capacity, and 
includes many extra features suggested by existing users. The original Money Manager for Amstrad CPC/PC W computers is still available at £24.95 
Send cheque or credit card nu mber or phone far immediate despatch (Pease specify com pufer model) 

Connect Systems 

3 Ftanchforri Road, London W13 &ND 01- 743 9792 Barn-1 ppm 7days a week 




v W may Wtad SffltegotieB til entries atewtfng lo account, daw and merit (eg 3 1 hank 

Boooun? extras, or all motoring expenses,or all cash account business expenses elcj 

and produce reports on the screen or prtiier as fotows’ 

• Detailed SMenwiTlS covering any period, showing each qualifying toansaction with a 
running balance. 

* Quarterly YaT statements showing input and output transactions separately wrih 
columns Iqr exempt, zero rated. YATable, VAT paid and gross around. and a 
summary with ail Iherelevant totals. 

• Tables Showing the Intel amount* far each dass montfi by monffi, and LuLals tor 
the whole year. 

* Tabtas sheering the totals lor each dass in each account. 

• Tables shoeing the monthly maximum, minimum and average balances, fcimow 
and cash flow mcnth by mortlh and *gr the Whole year. 

# 6w graphs of any tategofy month by mentfi. 

« Pw chans covering any period tor various categories of entry {PC version only}. 


Up 10 300 separate frawactions may be entered per month. 

Each envy consists at: 

• The d^ of the month, eg, EJKfof June 

• Account number, lyjarfuptoadHfinedl^youtosuilyourcircumstanoes. 
eg 1- Barctaft 2* Visa. 3= Crahwc. 

• C.het*js or rater once number, eg ASC I 23 

• Class code, one of up as 50 dalined by you to suit your circumstance* 
eg 01= Overheads, ol- Ram. o2= hMbljghdng, &2=» Stetionery etc. 
or mfl- Motoring, ml - Petrol, m2- Ftaad Tax, irfl- Maintenance etc. 

• Descriptive text eg, “Tax Rebate'. "Rertrigefatur", irtq. 

• Optional srngte-ehafaaw mark as an extra identifier, eg, b=r busmess, p= private. esc. 

• Account recuhOiiaUcpn n, wker. 

• The imowrt of the nanasaion,, debit or credh. 

• Optional VAT ndcanx, eg exempt, zero. full or part rated. It VAT h not retevam it may 
be ignored. 



Page 52 


Amstrad User September 1987 

































. T: "i: ' • : i!‘ 'T K TkJfC'C? l 

GAMES | 

*: ' i: ■:■ ■ - ^ ^ ‘ ^ ^ ' S 1- ■ ! „* ' ! ^- ~- 1 • 


FRED the fruit picker has sprayed his 
crop with the wrong pesticide. Help him 
collect his cherries, through 30 differ¬ 
ent fields, and save his job, But beware, 
One of the cherries has mutated and is 
determined to allow the other cherries 
to mutate, by killing you, 

To pick up a cherry move over it. 
When you have all the cherries from 
the field go into the bouse. You will 
then be transported to the next field. 

Frootee works with both the key¬ 
board and a joystick, you need to wait 
for the music to start before playing the 
game. The cherry monster is very 
aggressive, it is best to run off the top of 
the screen and try to get him trapped in 
the trees. 

When typing in the listing be careful 
with the DATA statements. Remember 
to save the program before running it.. 
The l character is a shifted {S', next to 
the letter P on the keyboard. This 
should prefix the word SPRITE since it. 
is an RSX. 

Good luck - the men at nine elms are 
depending on you, 



A CPC game in Basic and machine 
code by Brian Round 


1 




1 w .hlilljKi 

TORE um f a 1 10 30: READ eh ) :NEKT f 
;DATA ,l,Sr3,H,3,-,5r- 

M 10 2&lREAO trUHHEXT DDMA 1M, 
fi,Zfl,3,6,14, 

1,1 ,1,Z,Z,2,Z,Z,1M 

4 GO?JB 9000 ':CALL U 0&0 

5 RESTORE &:FGR f z 0 IQ 15 : R E A 0 $ tiNK . ,i 

‘NEXT f 
t GOSUS 2003 

7 tc=«:le*1iLi a S:G0SUB m „ 

8 DATA 1,Z4,ZMAl^ 1fi ' S ' 6 ' ,3 '* 6,16/ 

tl'«OtE'0flS ; -lN9ON#M,2a,21-23= PlN ' ( ' 
fl: PAPER# 1,/:tLS#1 

2% F09 f*B EG 17 STEP Z;i5PftlTE,0,MAG' 

6 :lSPRIT£., 36 ,t r iA 0 ?fi;NEXT f t 

21 FD5 f=0 TO 10:FDR q-0 TO 1B:»*tf,q3 
hNEH qtNEXT T M , 

25 FQ? f-0 TO 10 F ff^ CT ^0) =*. : mS t f ,9) , 

:NEXT f 

lg L9CllTE#1,7,3;PBl«T#1,'S(0RE;;«:lfl»T 

t#i,2,i:P*mr*i/iwt'jti;' locate# 

1,1Z,1iPRlNT#1/LlVES';U 

45 * = l ;y"0 :•ji1 = Bhi2=8 

46 GOSUe 1000 

47 ml £ *,*)*"* 

50 lSPRITE^MM*^ 

55 l£PRlTE,x*4 f y*2jrfcAl7AitSPRI • 4,mZ 

■fc 7 i ft 1F C 

56 lf'*S(y,il=T THEN SOUIIt 
j f i, ■ f rc-Trc-l ^ sc-sc 4 5-0 - G0&G3 9 jl-,!hS'■ 

Ytt)-" 

57 gsx:b=y’al=m1;m4=B2 
IF K =m1 m y**l THtN CLSSISPR1TE,X*4 
,y*2,RA30&:GO5UB 750: Li-Li‘t:IF h = 0 
THES GOTO 2500 ELSE GOTO 10 

59 IF ti>0 THEN ti = H-1 _ 


*' Djy * - 1 taU I 

'"reydHll then if (>1 t„,1 TC 

tHfN * ; , _ 1 FHfN rf « 

lj «8 THEN ;f „j 

V 0OSI//Iflg da " 0 TNElV mtJB w 
30 /SPRITE g+4 ib*? #jn?:a 

*2 Ami 

£5 GOTO 50 

C 5 ^NT"UVoV W OT = f It B:lmn 
m a ::? r/ : ^S fl:Kn f:sm 

110 WUItl/ 7 «E» y‘y-1 I 


Jf Y s 9 rm y=e 
If 

mm 


• RtTMN 
d THEN 


Y-y +1 


- Tii then i?l=m2“{y>^l 

IS h S‘:i-n *« th« .8 

S i; SRSSi-ll- t»« 
liilS 1 -^ 64:>EWtm 

528 'for *-i«/«;«* uh i'; »"= 

f;FDd f*257 TO _ 


T:rUK TO "0?4 5 jep 32- 

FOR q = T.V.T0 0 STEP -1:bd fH-q) H)=q 
:UE!{7 q: NEXT f; FOR f=5T3 TO 1024 STE 
P 6 >4 r F 0 R q=H TO 0 57! P -Trbfff*c> =q 
:NEXT q:NEXT i 

521 FOR f=*41 TO IBZiifreCf M:H£U f - for 

f = 673 TC 1024 57£P J2:bcf-f) = 15:NEXT 
f 

ii? FCR f-,'05 TO 1024 STEP 32:&e(f) =3 :be 
f f+ 16;-?5: N£ J(T f: FOR f-769 TO 1024 5 
'EP 32 t FOR TO 7 :be{f+qJ=T5-Cq+1 
Db'EXT 0:NEXT f: FOR f = fi97 TD 1024- be 
ff)s0:NEXT f 

523 FOR f=S97 70 1024 STEP 8:FOR to 
1 STEP 2:beCf+q)=8+q:NEXT q:NEXT t 

525 p! = 1ip2=7:ton=T:eou=1:fcp=0 

526 EOS f=1 ic 32:S0UN( 1,0,20,4,1,2,!:F 
OR 4=f 10 !65:NE*r ijjNEAT f 

550 G-CSUB 600 
5J2 SOUND 1,0,2M,1,M 
540 SOUND Z,ttp'f>;ton,Z8,l5 2 
350 SOUND 4^0, '9,15/3^0,be(p2);S0UND 4J 
#10/t5/3/i,be£p2+1) 

5 60 p 1 -p 141 : if pT=65 THEN p U'- 
565 a2-p2+2;IF pZ-10?5 THEN GOTO 575 
5 66 C-PU-COIJ42: 1 F cou-257 THEN t&n*2 
567 IF cou=513 THEN tp n =4 
56fi IF cou=769 THEN 

569 IF kp=1 THEN RETURN 

570 GOTO 533 

575 FOR f=1 TO 37: SObNfl MJ # 2MJ,M«T 
{RND+15J+1;FOR q-f TO 165:NEXT q;NEX 

5S0 m f = 1 TO 10000:NEXT f:Sc-TO 500 
600 IF INKEH37>=0 THEN Lef=71:ri=63:up= 
27:d'p-36:Kp = 1 :G05UB 630:RE7URN 
610 IF INKtrU5)=0 THEN lef=74:ri=?5:up= 
72:do-73;i(fj-1: RETURN 
620 RETURN 

it'INBQWtfl ^4,16,5,13:PEN#1 ^6: PAPES#1.1 

ZiCUrfliLOCATFil^iPRlNUl/i-LMt 
’iLOHTE^^UiPRINUd/X-iHghriLOC 
^TE#T / 4,4:PRllNT#1/P~Up"; LO'CATE^T ,4* 


Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 53 

































































Learning CAN be fun 

• Use your Amstrad to teach and amuse 
your children at the same time. 

• Three packages crammed full of 
educational programs - and 

so easy to use! 

• Each program has been 
educationally approved 
after extensive testing in 
the classroom. 


Ayes 2-5 


Alphabet 

Colours 

Counting 

House 

Magic Garden 

Matchmaker 

Numbers 

Pelican 

Seaside 

Snap 



PELICAN 

Teach your children to cross the 
road sa/efy at a Pelican crossing 


HOUSE 

Select the colours to dram a house 
- hours of creative entertainment 


Ages 5-8 


Balance 
Castle 
Derrick 
Fred’s Words 
Hilo 

Maths Test 
Mouser 
Number Signs 
Seawall 
Super Spell 




NUMBER SIGNS 

Provide the correct arithmetic 

sign and aim to score ten out of ten 


BALANCE 

Learn maths the fun way. Type in 
the answer to balance the scales 


Ayes 8 12 


Anagram 
Codebreaker 
Dog Duck Corn 
Guessing 
Hangman - 
Maths Hike 
Nim 

Odd Man Out 
Pelmanistn 
Towers of Hanoi 




HANGMAN 

Improve your child’s spelling tulth 
fftis/un torsion of the popular game 


ODD MAN OUT 

Find the word that does not fit - 
before your time runs out 


r s 


Send to: Database Publications, 
FREEPOST* Europa House, 
bS Chester Road, Hazel Grove, 
Stockport $K7 5NY. 


FUN SCHOOL rare 
Age 2-5 6077/6078 
Age & 8 6079/6080 
Age 8-12 6082/6033 


'Add .t'l for Europe. r Add £2 for Overseas 


Order at any time of the day or rtljht 


Orders tv Prestel: 

Key *89, then 614563383 


M \croL itr k / Teleca m Goia' 

72:MAGQ01 


l_ 


Don t forget to give your name, iiddnt-siii and credit card num 


Fayment: please indicate method [\2) 

Access.-MasleTCtiaTtje.’ Euioeard/Bardaycard/Viss 


ExpiTy dale 

/ 


Card Mo, L_I_i_ i _j i_i_ l 


_j L l j _i_J i_i_ l —L. 


f 1 Cheque FQ made payable Tn Database Publications Ltd 

Name_Signed_ - — _ 

Address_ 


P'ease allow up to 28 days /or delivery 


.Tel: __ 


ACUF9 


















































































































■■■ - - , -. --- - -—- 

. ■ J . : : : 


I ; ii. ::: - 


—■—;— 




games! 


r 


5 :PRlNT^1/L-3oun‘: FOR f = 1 
EXT f: RETURN 

750 m -3,2,-T,2,2,1,2:RfSTORE 77E : FOR 
'"1 TO 11: RE AD no ^efy: SOUND \.no< 
n':FOR f=1 TO 5000;fi 
EKT f:SETURV 

m ENT 770; FOR 

f-1 "0 11:JfEAD no^nnc^du:SOUND 1,no, 
n n \m f = J TO 50fl0;N 
EXT f:f?E7URN 

750 ENT -3/,-1 / 2///:RESTore 77^:FD^ 
f " : TO 11:REAfl rso^nno^du:SOUS'D 1,ro. 
d j* 107,0,3: SOaJND- no,du^^0,7,fl,3; 

FOR q=1 TO dy*T20:NEXT qtftEXT f 
760 JtETURN 

770 DATA 251,169,3^53/69,2,253/69,1,2 

53,169,3,.213,142,2,225,ISSf,1,225,150 
,2,253/69,1,253,169,2,1?9 # 284,1,253 
,169,2 

7ft0 mi 0:CLS:TAS:FOfl f=400 70 2W STEP 
“4:S0UND 1,4B1-f,1,7:H0VE 408-1/:P 
RINT'GAIE DVEt’;: NEXT f:TM&FF:FQR f 
-1 TO 2030 -NEKT f ^RETURN 
m mi 0.: CL$: LOCATE 7/0: PfilNTTEVEL ; 

■Le:FOR f-T TO 2000:NEXT f: RETURN 
050 FOR f=ti TO 0 STEP 1,1 

,1,?;sc=sc*1:fiOHJB 950:NEXT f 

355 .;#= le+1 rlF [*>30 THEN GOTO 5000 ELSE 
GQSUB 000:GOTO 10 
900 FOR q=t TO frs 

905 M*IMT(RND*8) + 1;fr2=INT{fiND*?/hlF 
nltfr2,fr1)<>" THEN GOTO 905 ELSE 
IT f r1-5 AND ^r2=S T NEN GOTO 905 ELS 
E Ii3.nr2,fr1)~r 
907 SPRITE, fr1*4,ff2*2,&A|fFB 
910 WEXT tj: RETURN 

950 LOCATE*1,7 y 3:PRIN T #T/SCOfl , E' h ;st-LOCfl 

TE#1 / 2/:PJTIN7i7/TIPfr;ti;' “iffETilR 
?1 

1000 SEN screen 
1005 FOR f = 1 [0 trUej 

1010 w1=;NTfRN&*3) + 1:w2=INT(RNfr*g> +1; IF 
it5(/,u2J=V THEN GOTO 1010 ELSE 
SPRITE, h2-4>1*2,SX076:n$(ii1,irf2)? n . 

1011 NEST f 

■020 frt=ch{Le);50SU6 900:RETURN 

POOE 0:CIS:FDR 1=0 TO 11 STEP 2-F0fi 
0=0 TO U STEP *:SPRITE, fl ,f,J 
ilTEXT q ;N : EXT f 



i DC ATE i,2:PRl«T'F H 0 0 T E i :lC f 
J 8 TE U(1mn T U11987 Brian Sound. 

■:UCME 4,S:P«’.*V > ' /, st ’ e ,V 

LOCATE ^,1I:fSlNT' K - Keyboard 
2025 GOTO 500 

S'»?l:Si?FH 1*1 TO 5« S «t«E 5, 

10:PEN INTUNS^il+llPSm CMjSMTU 

CATIOlirs»■ I«Tl *"** 1 *W^V 3 ■ • *T 

(RHt*1S) + 1:S p,tnE ' I *‘' ,y !,SA17 *' HE 
yx f ■ pen l:G.OTO 5 

9600 OATS »1,0e,aM/ a ' a /°' d ,H c / 9 ' 

Sfc,c5,fl,ed,T9,bd,11l,50r®r2 y - b ®' b ’- 

14,e,19,6d,56,ei/d,5s,00,l!!,4i,13. 
i a ,6-f ,13, c5,e5,*5,<15,11,7,,* M*/ 0 ® 
,12,7s,tO,Tf,28,C5,f5,3* , aa , 
b 




RESTORE ?ij^5:f0i; Tri 

„ P«E %n~A ° I 

iSSS- 

J 

»« 5 M*'- 1 

< 16,4t,8,e,e ; »;"i 1 °//j,(>,0,8,4 


1 ? 2 5 J; 2 “'W.'49,252,250,16 

0fl ,. 252,0 

? /J 0,0,0,0,1,15, 

; 10,0,0,0,0/ 207,20/ j a a 

rj -51/6/0,0,0,0,12 51 17 

3,1.,38,155,1,1,1, 
J0,'0'0 ,0 ' ? ' S4 ' 16 ®' 0,0 ' 0 ' 0 ' 0 ' 0 ' ,i ' 5 

25n'i!V??( 8 / ?! = ,9, ' 243 ' 2<3 ' 567 ' 

tjc/fi?/,./!,243/43,243 ? i ^ o / r 


9034 DATA 252,3 ,0,S,3,B,8,8,8,8,®, 0 - c ,4* 
,14,14,32,0,0,0,8,48,43,16,16,0,0,0 
,0,32,46,32,56,8,8,0,28,8,52,32,14, 
0,0,8,0,20,0,26,28,0,8 

9035 BATA i,16,0,84, 252,252,25t,252,161, 
0,0,252,252,252,252,252,252,8,84,25 
2,252,252,252,252,252,168,252,252,2 
52,252,252,252,252,252,195,195,195, 
195,195,195,195,195,135,15,75,19u,1 

95.135.15.75.135.195.75.195.195.135 
,195,75,135,195,75,195,195,135,'9), 

9836 DATA 135,15,75,195,195,'35,15,75,19 
5,195,195,195,195,195,195,195,195,1 

95.195.195.195 ,195 ,':95,195,135,15,7 

5.15.15.135.15.75.135.195.75.75.135 
,135,195,75,135,195,75,75,135,135,1 
95,75,135,15,75,75,135,135,15,75,19 

5.195.195.75.135.195.195.195 

0037 3 AT A 6,16,0,0,8,36,252,8,0,8,8,8,8, 
66,252,0,0,0,8,8,8,86,252,0,8,6,6,0 
,252,252,252,252,166,8,8,1,252,252, 
252,252,166,0,0,1,252,252,252,252,1 
63,0,6,1,252,252,252,252,168,0,0,1, 
3,86,252,3,6,0,0,0,0,36,252,8,0,0,6 
,0,0,86,252,0,0,0,8,0,0,86,252,8,0, 


69,1,253,169,2,179,284,1,753 

,169,2 

7J0 3005 ■:CLS: T At:F 


"SSSSiSP 

,(56 DATA 3,66,252,0,8-®A®j®j |8 j'ijj 7 ; 

[VAf. itj.0,00 

r t a a7jl a 0,0,0/76/5/ °///^ 

»-SSEtesr 

9850 RETURN 



ACU 


Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 55 







































































CASTLE of EAGLES 


A new graphical adventure game 
for the Amstrad CPC464 

The game is set in Nazi Bavaria in 1944. Your 
mission is to gain entry into the "Castle of Eagles" 
which was built on a huge rock in the Bavarian 
Mountains, You and your partner have been 
dropped by parachute some 50 miles short of 
your original drop zone owing to the Aircraft 
having been shot up on route. You must make 
your way overland and get into the castle, find 
and photograph documents about the de¬ 
velopment of Germany's H Bomb replace the 
top secret documents and escape to safety with 
the film. You will be up against the elements, 
German Patrols and many other hazards. 

ARE YOU UP TO IT. 

CPC464 Tape send P.O. or 
Cheque for £4.95 to: 


S & M SOFTWARE 
P.O. BOX 332 
LONDON SE15 3LE 

PRICE INCLUDES P&P 


From NEMESIS (The Original Meddlers) 

BONZO SUPER MEDDLER (FOR ANY CPC) 

THE dedicated TAPE TO DISC utility 

NOW including the devastating 

BONZO’S HACK PACK 

THE FACTS 

BONZO SUPER MEDDLER it GUARANTEED TO TRANSFER MORE GAMES 
THAN ANY OTHER PROGRAM; THE FIRST PERSON TO FIND A MORE 
SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM WILL RECEIVE THRICE THEIR MONEY BACK!! 

Sounds familiar? BONZO Slweys COUkJ transfer more - FACT! BONZO SUPEfl 
MEDDLER will Irangfof "Thousands', btol WE include full celails ad how to transfer over 
400 TOP GAMES. 

MORE FACTS 

BONZO SUPER MEDDLER does NOT u&b a massive fiosE* program to run (he transferred 
games ALL Irwtil&re 'stand atone'. 

BON2Q uses LESS fnwmwy. tr*r«fw* MORE, COSTS LESS and glvas REAL 
■upport to Iht g»r, 

Wall allow yog tS.IM for your oks D,P. -dcsc In pan Exchange! 

BSM tapes upgraded to BSM+HACKPAGK DISC .. (sand inlay) 

BSM 8 l HACKPACK DISC £11,50. Only 

izzzzzzzzz^^zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzmzmzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzL 

BONZO’S DOO - DAN 

"TUI* It (hs- best Eve teen In a long whNm .... / rtcofflrnaod It*' 

-Amstrad Action. June JJ7 

Feakirgs BIGBONZO FORMAT 

A REALL Y USABLE &03K pdr SIDE FORMAT, comptata wflh the essential disefla tranter 
lactfty without irritating reslricJbri* - files of over 42K READILY Iransfar between any m.* of 
FORMATS FORMATS RAPIDLY Including all standard. 

A "NOTHING HIDDEN" FULL CATALOGUE. COMPLETE DIRECTORY EDITOR. 
TFtAOVSECTOR EDITOR - in HEX dr ASCII. (A FULL SECTOR or DIRECTORY displayed 
to tha screen, with easy EDIT mode). 

FILE LOCATIONS by TRACK/SECTQH. RAPID DISC SEARCH - HEX-ASCII. 

A WIDE RANGING DISC to DISC COPIER. PRINTER OUTPUT etc etc. 

ALL WORK ON NORMAL, ENLARGED. AND meal Tunny" foi-mats 
FULL USE OF DRIVE AfB where fitted - no prpblam with one, 

MANY UNIQUE PEA TUBES. Supplied Ml DISC £ 11.50 

vssz/sss/ysss?sj///As///y//ss//ss//ss/ss//ss/ss///s////-//s//ss//////z y/a 

BONZO CLONE ARRANGER -the i#stffji5*r-~ 

STILL AVAILABLE, AUTO DIS&TAPE tor archwaa - easy recovery RECOVER that ittle 
used disc, and store the content or*. Capet Fast format, excellent DISC-DISC lao ty 
-supplied on tape, easy trenslef lo dec, just £6.DO Itape) 


ALL WTTR FULL WSTfl UCTIQNS. Wegh™ FULL adw M>W BU»Wl and a NEWSLETTER, 

crease s*) fl wie tow ORDERS with cfreque^soslil, sent by return post: 

NEMESIS (ACU) 

10 Carlow Road, Ringstead, Kettering, Northants NN14 4DW, 


CYC A LTD. 

287 CALEDONIAN ROAD, LONDON N1 1 EG 

TELEPHONED -700 4004 

AMSTRAD 

Amstrad PC Compatibles 

P.O. A. + VAT 

CPC 464 Green 

£173 +VAT 

CPC 464 Colour 

£260 +VAT 

CPC 6128 Green 

£260 +VAT 

CPC 6126 Colour 

£350 +VAT 

DM P 2000 Printer 

£130+VAT 

DMP3000 

£169+VAT 

FCW8256 

£399 +VAT 

PCWS512 

£499 +VAT 

Amstrad V21/23 Modem 

£66 +VAT 

CF2 Floppy Disc 

£2.60 +■ VAT 

GF2 DD Floppy Disc 

£4.50 +VAT 

Printer Ribbon DMP 2000 

£4.00 +VAT 

Printer Ribbon 8256/8512 

£4.50 +VAT 

JY2 Joystick 

E1LQ0+VAT 

RS 232 Serial Interface 

£43.00 +VAT 

RS 232 wth Software 

£53,00 +VAT 

CPS 8256 RS 232 (use with FCW 0256} £59-00 +VAT 

Amstrad FD 2 

E139+VAT 

MP1 Modulator/464 

£17.00 +VAT 

Sony 3.5" S/S DD 

£1.90 +VAT 

Sony 3.5" D/S DD 

£2.90 + VAT 

Sony 5.25 MD1D 

£1.20 +VAT 

Sony 5,25 MD2D 

£1.70+VAT 

Sony 5.25MD2QD 

£2.75+VAT 

Sony 5.25MD2HD 

£3,00+VAT 

TLX 297761 BT1 EQ G Relay to 01 700 4004 

CYCA LTD 

287 Caledonian Road, London N1 1EG 

■■ CREDIT CARDS HQTL NE mmmm 

! VISA. 


mam i 01-700 4004 


r 


DOODLEDISC DISC UTILITY 



□PRLSOFT 

presents . ., 


For Amslrad CPC 464/664/612B 
Only £9.95 (Disc) 



Full instructions included 
Contains all these features 
in one package:- 



IDENil- DISC " the utomato backup-disc utility, arid mow than one step ahead of 
current protection methods, In fact we think weVe though! Of everything. Don't wait 
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before it's too late. 

DISCED * A powertii screen bassd disc sector edtof. Read or write anywhere on 
disc, inducing ihe directory. Edt In HEX or A5C Hide lies, rename Hies, make rfes 
>ead odY etc. 

UNERASE * Recover acctdentofy erased files solely. Displays, allocation rriap cf 
all erased files ond highlights any re-used docks. 

ERASE * Erase flies qisckiy with this screen bused file eraser. Dfsptoys.allocafton 
map of cfl curont tiles. 

HEADER * Display header Informdticp for disc files. 

DEPROT * Deprotoot and LIST protected BASIC programs 

FASTFQ RM * A very fast formatter which support? ai the usuat formats inducing a 

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(Overseas orders please add £1.00) 
(Existing customers return disc with 

Dept ACU 

PO Box MT 10 

l £3 00 for upgrade,) 

Leeds LS17 8TY J 

___ 4 


Page 56 


Amstrad User September 1987 





































REVIEW 








* 




F-15 STRIKE EAGLE 


A 40-page manual indicates Microprose’s usual degree 
of attention to detail. Strike Eagle is the latest US 
simulation to make it across to the Amstrad, and it 
manages to keep all the features the original boasted. 

The idea is to fly a USAF F-15 strike aircraft on one 
of eight, missions to destroy a primary target, surviving 
missile and airborne attacks along the way, and getting 
rid of any secondary targets that annoy you. 

The standard flight simulator elements are strong. 
The screen shows the view from the fighter divided into 
land and sky in the traditional manner. 

There's a lot to think about while you sit on top of 
your two Pratt and Whitney F10O-PW-1QG engines. 
This is reflected in the HUD - Head Up Display - which 
flashes important information on to your cockpit 
canopy, like speed and altitude. Other interesting 
events, such as being shot at or getting a SAM missile 
on your tail, are similarly notified. 

Below the canopy are three displays. The right one 
shows how many bombs and bits you have strapped to 
your airframe. In the middle is the radar display, which 
conveys detailed data about any enemy airborne forces 
in your vicinity. These might include heat-seeking or 
radar guided missiles; you have jamming, chaff and 
flares to fool them but you have to decide fast which is 
going to work and be able to fly your way out of trouble 
if they don't.. 

This display area also incorporates indicators which 
show if you’re being scanned by radar or heatseeker. To 
the left is the operations map; this shows a plan view of 
the area you’re flying over and has all the enemy instal¬ 
lations marked. 

The instructions go into great detail about the 
capabilities of your fighter. Try flying at over 1630 
knots and your wings fall off - just one of the delights 
for the rookie air jockey. 

There's also a lot on the MiGs and missiles that will 
give you a warm reception as you bomb Libya, Egypt, 
Haiphong, Syria, Hanoi, Iraq or the Persian Gulf, The 
USAF certainly gets around. 

Its quite amazing the number of ways you can carry 
out creative bombing. The Pop-Up is quite a lark; zoom 



Exciting as the life of a writer is, I’ve never 
actually flown a modern high-performance 
jet fighter. An odd omission from the old CV, 
but I feel a bit better now I've pushed F-15 Strike 
Eagle about a bit. At first I was a bit unhappy about 
the three frames/sec graphics, but as I took the time to 





OK, first thing to remember is that F-15 is 
not a game, it’s a simulation. In the game 
stakes it’s good but no cigar. A simulator 
requires some knowledge of the real thing, that's why 
you get a book full of numbers to read before you set 
the disc drive to load. 



A good simulation gets you engrossed. This is 
a good simulation. You soon become oblivious 
to Mum calling for tea, forget that there are 
only six weeks left of the holidays and you’ve three 
books to read and essays to write. 


Amstrad User September 1987 



along upside-down at 3000 feet, push the nose down 
and at 2000 feet roll, drop the eggs and climb out of 
danger. Remember the good old days when the Red 
Baron looked out of his cockpit, fished a grenade from 
an inside pocket and dropped it? Gone forever. 

As well as bombs and guns* there are two flavours of 
air-to-air missile, short range {Side winders) and 
medium range (Sparrows). Another decision the nas¬ 
cent pilot must make when confronted with an enemy 
aircraft ~ dogfight or missile? 

The radar has various ranges. At the longest it 
provides early indication of a threat, as you wind the 
range down it provides more detail of a close problem 
but you lose the long-distance warnings, 

The basic flight controls arc run from the joystick, 
and fire launches a missile, drops a bomb or lets off a 
few rounds of gunfire. The other 20-odd functions are 
controlled from the keyboard, and it's a good idea to 
learn them, Fast. There isn't time to look up the short- 
range missile button when two MiG-23s are taking an 
interest in your immediate future. This is a demanding 
simulation. 


A uthor: MieroProse 
Price; £9.95 tape, £14*95 disc 


learn the game they became less and less important, 
A mission can take at least a quarter of an hour* 
and it should be possible to spend an hour or so up 
there. Action, adventure and a MiG up your wotsit, Tt 
might be politically unsound, but it's great fun 



Microprose has strong links with the Pentagon 
through the company President Major "Wild Bill” 
Steely. He claims to pi ay test every game, and I know 
that MicroProse US does have a CPC. The quality is 
certainly good. More interesting than exciting. 



There are bombs to be dropped on behalf of 
America. The only thing which is suspect is the pack¬ 
age which makes it look like a Rainbird game. Friends 
who only had a quick blast didn't like F-15. It needs 
time. 



Page 57 




























REVIEW I 


B£889 
•: co 






tSSffi 


' o: 

.:. :■ 






::: : 


: :: ::o>: :qcoo: .fees* 






THE FINAL MATRIX 

REMEMBER the game with the Zircons? Now there's 
number two in the series that makes the Establishment 
blush; The Final Matrix. It stars Nimrod, a Biopton, 
who has been picked to rescue his buddies from the 
Cratons, 

Fed up with floating in tasteless soup in tasteless 
yuppie restaurants, the Cratons have zapped down, 
snatched a few Bioptons and locked 'em away in mat¬ 
rices scattered through the galaxy. Nimrod's jobr Scout 
and scour 

First he picks his matrix from the five-sided TV set on 
your spaceship. Matrices are displayed as round blobs 
against a starry planet on the TV screen. This also tells 
you the matrix defensive strength. Then it's straight 
into a fairly standard 3-D maze chase, picking up weap¬ 
ons, finding stuff and dodging those things without 
your best interest at heart. 

For the Nimradian cause stand the TV system, which 
let the lone Biopton scan the -matrix he finds himself in; 
blocks of concrete which he can put together to box in 
enemies or form steps, and various weapons which have 
slightly more effect than the tap-on- the-shoulder blas¬ 
ter he's been given. 

Against are the standard issue wandering guards 
with energy-sapping missiles, disrupters that spin and 
push our hero off course, black ice areas that drain his 
batteries and 'wire framed antagonists'. Presumably 
some Gremlin miff at not having written Elite? 

Nimmy skims about, finds his fellow baby Bioptron 
and whistles back to the launch site, from where he 
returns to the ship to pick another matrix. He must try 
to get the hostage from a particular matrix first time, 
otherwise the matrix defensive strength goes up the 
next time he returns. 

The matrices have walls which Nimrod can 
sometimes jump on, if he can find a trampoline (turn te 
turn), or even better a thruster pad. But the walls don't 
have much in the way of tops, and it's easy to fall off 
into deepest nothingness. Not a good way to rescue your 
hostages. 



Energy can be replenished from replenishment 
squares. We call them bars of chocolate, but the effect is 
similar apart from Nimrod’s teeth not falling out 
afterwards. Of course, one cannot be sure that he’s got 
teeth in the first place, or that alien physiology is close 
enough to ours for the old sugar-to-dentures cycle to 
work. 

Back at the matrices without number, the time limit 
imposed by the Cratons i.s 39 Aeons, or just over 90 
minutes if you convert at the rate of one Aeon = one 
minute. The usual rate of an Aeon being an infinite 
stretch of time does not apply. It only seems that way. 
The titular final matrix refers to that felicitous event 
where Nimrod completes his quest, picks up the last 
hostage and returns to the ship to a reward unspecified. 


Author: Gremlin 

H * 

Prive; £8+95 




rf you can imagine no greater thrill than 
wandering around a seemingly infinite collec¬ 
tion of seemingly identical three-dee mazes, 
engaging in firefights with a largo number of robot 
guards who can easily outgun and outrun you and 


bouncing off walls while your one and only life trickles 
out then get The Final Matrix. Otherwise don’t. In 
other words, it’s not very good. Oscar Wilde could 
have been talking about this game when he sai^DHow 
boring’. 



Ahh ha! (says Piglet), I thought when I saw 
the title screen, shoot-em-ups in space live 
on. A very clever loading routine tells you 
what’s what while you wait - 'tho you can’t nip 
downstairs for a quick Mr Juicy while the datacorder 



struts its 1200 bauds. 

When the game proper starts you realise that the 
good bit is over, I had little control over Nimrod, and 
soon failed to regret that -1 gave up 



Gremlin is an odd company, it produces won¬ 
derful cutesy games like Jack the Nipper and 
Thing on a Spring, yet when it. tries to be 
serious it’s like watching a Star Trek rerun, amusing 


but hard to believe. Once you’ve cut through all the 
plot, perhaps becatfee of it The Final Matrix seems 
ti es ordinare, jjj 



Page 58 


Amstrad User September 1987 

































































































































- : - : - - -“. . I rrnVfn i i. . I n -- - 


REVIEW ] 


SLAP FIGHT 

I ask you. If somebody told you that they had a game 
called Slap Fight, what would you think it would he. A 
previously undiscovered martial art perhaps, Chi’k to 
Chi’k, where two sweaty opponents prance about, 
trying to land an open-palmed stinger on a portion of 
the other's anatomy. 

Ten point* for a face, 20 for a thigh and a massive 50 
for a pranged buttock. Could be quite a, er, hit. with the 
right sound effects. 

Would you think of it as another Ughtforce? Slap 
Fight? it is, you know, Small spacecraft shooting up 
waves of invaders as they tumble down the screen. As 
each wave is eliminated the backdrop changes and the 
next lot come on in a meaner mood with more guns. As 
the Taito copyright message is displayed prominently, 
the thing has to be some arcade conversion, but the 
original hasn't been sighted around here. Perhaps Slap 
Fight is a misprint like Donkey Kong, That game 
should have been Monkey Kong, but a letter got mixed 
up,,* 

Despite the hoary game pi ay, there is a hint of inno¬ 
vation. Some aliens, when shot, turn into stars, These 
act very much as Green Shield Stamps. In case you’re a 
stripling who has never heard of such things, let me 
elucidate, 

GS Stamps were (maybe still are) given away by 
shops with sales. Collect a couple of hundred, and you 
could get a set of glasses a couple of thousand and. you 
picked up a TV. There was a top limit of some ridiculous 
number where the lucky saver could get a luxury yacht. 
The slight drawback that some 27,000 tons of processed 
peas had to be bought, first was never mentioned. 

No sale is needed with Slap Fight, One star entities 
the owner to extra speed. Two adds a little something to 
the built in guns. Throe causes deadly emissions to be 
radiated from the sides of the craft, and then come 
filings like an industrial-strength laser, smart missiles 
and shields, Once you've spent your stars on a feature, 
you have to start, again from scratch. 

You get the desired extra by acquiring stars to the 
right number and pressing space. The new addition 



lasts for a variable time, but typically it works until you 
lose a life. 

Enough of the InterStellar Discount Saving Scheme. 
The mechanics of the game are standard, except that on 
keyboard with extra speed the spaceship zips around at 
a phenomenal speed. You can outrace bullets with 
impunity, which is useful. 

All the projectiles lobbed at you are carefully aimed 
Aliens that you pass are quite capable of firing 
backwards with an accuracy that, verges on the unfair. 
To the veteran space warrior, used to seeing the oppo¬ 
sition shooting willy-nilly at nothing at particular, the 
sight of five or six missiles converging on the spot where 
he’* sitting is educational. It also provokes joystick 
bending reactions. 

It'S an interesting game. But Slap Fight? There is 
mystery here. Probably a story too, Let me get my 
investigative boots on,,. 


Author; Imagine 
Price: £8.95 




The space fight theme develops, A nice twist 
on a nice implementation makes the game 
worthwhile, even with as strange a moniker 
as this one. There were a few interesting abnormali¬ 
ties on the preproduction version 1 had. Unusually, 
you could drive over an alien and you both survived 


played this in an arcade on holiday and 
loved it but didn't notice the name, so 1 
assumed that Slap Fight was an ice hockey 
game. Imagine my jubilation, when I found that this 
was that game. The patterns are the same, the side- 
way* firing weapons don't have quite enough poke. 


unscathed, And the playing area didn't scroll down as 
smoothly as some I've seen. It’s only half the screen as 
well, *o there is room for improvement. Keep, at it, 
Imagine (1984!. One day you'll produce a real winner. 



Always go lor the speed up first, then laser, then 
wings - which doubles your laser power and finally a 
shield. If you get every star you should have a shield 
for blasting at the big ship shown in the picture, Ace. 




A straightforward, scrolly shooty game, in 
the same vein as Mission Genocide. The scroll 
is not as good but then this has to imitate the 
arcade machine, so there are other considerations, 


Because this was not a huge arcade bit I doubt that 
many people will buy it because they want the same 
game. They'd miss a good blast. 



Amstrad User Septem her 1987 


Page 59 





































PagefiO 


Antstrad User September 19*87 


REVIEW 


SHADOW SKIMMER 


Once more we traipse gently into deep space for another 
saga of lasers, shields and rapacious robots. A quick 
update on the story is in order for those who've missed 
the previous episodes,.., 

'The scene is the bow end of a Star Class spacclincr, A 
junior officer has gone out on his compulsory solo space 
flight in a little skimmer to check on the robot, defence 
systems, and everything seems OK, Relieved at this 
uneventful trip (he’s seen some video games where all 
manner of unspeakable things befall a spacer) he turns 
to re-enter the ship. 

And... the hatch is stuck. The only other entrance is 
at the front of the ship, some three sections and a 
humungous number of robotic defence devices away. At 
this point, three choices confront the unlucky fellow. 

1* Sit tight and radio for a maintenance team to fix the 
hatch, 

2. Ask the ship’s defence officers to shut down enough 
hardware to let. him through, or 

3* Go for it, shooting his way to the front and destroying 
the three main central defence systems. Certain death, 
this one. 

Simple logic dictates that options one and two make 
pretty boring computer games. So three it is. Gritting 
his teeth (a pretty unpleasant habit, the bits of stone 
get stuck between your molars), he swivels the ship and 
prepares to confront the computers. 

The exterior of the Star Class liner is littered with 
girders, walls, partitions and other bits. The skimmer 
can't clear these, so the way back is going to be mazy. 
Some obstructions can be cleared with the skimmer 
flipped over on the back, but this reduces its manoeuv- 
reability. And long words beginning with M are just 
what you need when there are three nerve centres to 
knock out before breakfast. 

The designers of the Star Class weaponry decided 
that if the stuff was going to be any good it had be 
invisible, invincible, and inventive. Fortunately, a 
skimmer is equipped to overcome these attributes, but 
only if sensibly handled. 

As each new sector is explored, the robot weapons 


w ake up and pour out to attack the intruder, - that's 
you. Your lasers are useful, so are your throe shields. 
These can keep you safe for a w r hile, hut run down as all 
good shields must. You go with the third shield, which 
at least stops any petty worrying about oxygen, food or 
water. 

Strangely, you can get into the ship in places. Or at 
least into the inner bits of the hull, and to dodge some of 
the defences this is exactly what you need to do. Hover 
over a hatchway and loose off a bolt or tw r o of phase- 
coherent light, and you’ll be admitted. Don’t expect the 
defences to let. up inside. You won’t be disappointed. 

The instructions are a touch less than explicit., and 
the precise nature of the things that surround you 
remain mysterious. The top-down Mode 0 view doesn’t 
give away too much, but it cat) be revealed that the 
inner tubes, tomatoes and rotating planks are in fact 
robots, and the bursts of laser fire are bursts of laser 
fire, So now you know. Off you go then. 


1 didn’t enjoy this game much. It’s basically a 
maze game, with a little shooting and a lot of 
wandering about unremarkable areas. After 
five minutes ofjuddery chunky graphics l wondered 
whether anything different w’as going to happen. 
After IQ I stopped wondering. 


I did gain a little fun by trying to guess w r hich of the 
shapes was a hatchway, which was a low obstruction 
and which did nothing (the majority are in the last 
category). I also got a score in the high 30000s by 
sitting at the beginning and firing at a robot exit, 
which was about as exciting as it sounds. 


There is nothing 3 like more than a good 
space-age zap. This is a mediocre one. Once 
you’ve worked out what to fly under, and 
which bits to avoid the game perks up a bit. 


I’m surprised that a software house which is as well 
established as The Edge have not produced anything 
which is more remarkable. 


Why should anyone want to skim a shadow? 
Having failed to get H .41. to open the pod bay 
door you have to negotiate the most 
unstreamlined spaceship ever (not that spaceships 
need to be streamlined). 


I found negotiating the maze bits frustrating due to 
the sluggish joystick control, and the sprites could 
have been slicker, The Edge could have made more of 
this. 


Author.* The Edge 

Price; £8.95 tape £14.95 disc 


































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(Stud J'tv AtW hi r t(f Mr wdhvaraj 


Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 61 





































































r 

i 



Writing for Liz 


LIFE is stressful enough at the best of 
times, arid Liz Ting has her work cut 
out looking through all the program 
submissions. 

The last thing she wants is to lose 
track of which tape goes with which 
paperwork. 

To make things easier she’s put 
together a form which should accom¬ 


pany any program you send in. If you 
don’t want to cut your magazine then 
feet free to photocopy or copy it out. 

Try to make sure your program runs 
on as many machines as possible - not 
everyone has disc drives, a printer or 
joystick. Remember Liz likes clever 
programming, original ideas and diet 
coke. 


Program name:,.,,.. 

Programmer’s name: 
Address:.. 


I have sent it cm: □ Tape □ Disc 
A paper listing is not necessary. 
Label the program clearly. 


1 


Documentation includes: 


Telephone number:,.... 

Size:,..,...K 

□ Basic □ Machine code 
C Other language.. (please specify) 


□ Scenario (plot) 

A short note on how it works 

□ A subroutine by subroutine guide to how it works 

□ A list of variables used 

□ A guide to typing the program in and debugging 


If the program uses machine code is it: 

i"~ Assembler source □ Straight hex □ Check summed hex 


The documentation is on 
□ Paper □ Tape/disc... 


..(filename) 

( word processor used) 


The program should work on: □ CPC 4-64 □ CPC 664 



□ CPC 6128 

It was written on: □ CPC 464 □ CPC 664 □ CPC 6128 
The program toads in.....sections 


The program is entirely my own work and if it is accepted I 
agreed to the sale of full world rights. 

Signed ........ 

Date,....,,*,,............. 


CHARACTER DESIGNER 

(FOR AMSTRAD CPC's 464/664/6128) 


” Redefine your printer down load characte rs “ 

" H&deline Jhe computer scresn Font" 

" Redefine any or all keyboard keys (A$WEHTY keyboard) ” 

** Design special scientific characters and fonts" 

This utility takes all the hard work out of character designing to \hq extent of 
making it a pleasure. You will probably find yourself using it just For Fun even 
though i| has serious applications such as designing an ARABIC font or special 
scientific characters. 

The PRINTER part of the program will of course only work if your printer is 
capable of DOWN LOAD ING and is EPSON com palible - your printer manual will 
give ibis information, It will work with either 7-bit or fl-bit computer output (fl-bit 
port). 

Some printers, such as the Amstrad DMPSDOOtfQOa have the downloading 
capability but you are restricted by printer memory (RAM) so that only very few 
characters can be redefined. Our primer buffer upgrade kit (below) overcomes 
this problem on the DMP20D0/‘3OD0 and will allow you to redefine the entire 
character set. 

All the designing is done ’On-screen" so you can see exactly what you are 
doing. When you have finrshod designing youcan save your newly designed 
charade rs, fo r both the screen and itie printer, onto tape or disc, and reload 
them at any time into a basic program of your own choice and even into most 
Word- Processing programs. 

The program also allows the user to redefine any or all of ihe keyboard keys. 

Th is f eaiu re is uselyt for (hose who requi re an AS WE RTY keyboard. 

Available on laps and disc. The tape version IS NOT transferable to disc 

Cass ette £ 7.99 (U K) Euro pd £9.50 Rest of the World £i 0.75 

Disc £T 1.99 (UK) Europe £13.50 Rest Of the World Ct 4.75 

DMP“2000/3000 BUFFER UPGRADE KJT 

The primer buffer presently in the DMP2Q0av™o is a 2k RAM. Most of this 
RAM ia used by ihe printer's ope rafeng system, on average, 5k as a buffer 
space. Our upgrade kit contains a new static RAM which wil! increase the printer 
buffer by 6k [about 4 pages of text), T his upgrade will also allow al l of the 
Download Character Set to be re-deiired thereby allowing the user to design 
his own special characters for use in scientific ami other purposes. The kit is 
supplied with full pictorial instructions lo allow die amateur to cany out his own 
modifications, 

Prices £5,50 (UK) E6.75 (EUROPE) £7.50 (REST OF THE WO R LD) 


GOLDMARK SYSTEMS 

51 Comet Road, Hatfield, Herts. ALIO OSY England 
Cheques in t Sterling please (or UK PC). 

Wc do accept EUROCHEQUES_ 


STOCKMARKET T 


THINKING OF INVESTING? ALREADY AN INVESTOR? 

STOCKMARKET enables you to record details of 
purchases, sales and dividends of share, unit trusts etc. 
Current share prices can be entered very easily at any 
time for an automatic folio revaluation. Values of share 
prices, indexes etc can be recorded, listed and plotted 
along with moving averages. Practise buying and selling 
shares. See if your intuition is right. 


PRICES 


* Store values of share prices, indexes,, exchange rales ete. 

* Up to 260 prices per dure (eg. weekly pices for 5 years). 

* Tabulate prices. 

* Plot prices and moving average? with Jog or linear scales. 

* Actual prices supplied as demanjuum date (inc FT 30, British Telecom). 

* Use curves to select best buying and setting opportunities.. 

ACCOUNTS 


* Record fuU details of your portfolios of stocks, shares, unit mists etc. 

* Practice buying and selling techniques and accurately record yotu 
progress, 

* Up to fifty shares per folio. Store many fob® on one disc. 

* Buy and. sell shares with automatic calculation of dealing costs. 

* User definable dealing costs,. 

* Record dividend yields and frite earnings intros. 

* Update price* and automatically update yields, P/E ratios and 
recalculate individual Share and total folio value. 

* Record dividend payments. Local dealing costs and keep cash accounts. 

* Tabulate present folios, past transactions, dividend! ar«l cash, 
accounts, 


* DcrntPistrabon date supplied. Comprehensive forty pajje manual. 



CPC 464 (disc)/664/6128 
FCW 8256/8512 
Price: £29.95 (inc. p&p) 



MERIDIAN 

L s®St^yag® 


3ft Batcaskie Road, 
London, SE9 IHQ + 
Tel: 01450 7057 



Page 62 


Amstrad User September 1987 





















































■ . ■'.:: ; 



m 


REVIEW | 


MOUNTTE MICK’S DEATHKIDE. 

Hah! It sez here that this game is all about the 
McCIusky gang, who have raided the 'Trans-Canadian 
Express and are running from Mountie Mick, They lob 
lead pellets, bombs, grenades and other instruments, of 
badness at him while he chases them along the top of 
the train. Special mention is also made of loose moose 
(note the plural), chemical leaks and dark, dark tun¬ 
nels, Balderdash. 

We can reveal the true nature of the game for the 
first time. Mountie Mick is none other than 'Desperate' 
Mick Mountie, commuter and British Rail escapee. The 
McCIusky gang is a team of highly-trained and lethal Jy 
armed BR inspectors, with a licence to kill and a mis¬ 
sion to rid the network of those who sit in first-class 
carriages with second-class fooops, 'standard' these 
egalitarian days) tickets. 

Mick started his day in a blind rage. He read in his 
newspaper that because Inter City trains were too 
crowded, BR were going to cut the numbers (entirely 
true). He had recently travelled steerage on a 
Plymouth-Paddington train, and the combination of 
that unfortunate experience and this information drove 
him over the edge, 

He marched to the station. Pausing to strangle a 
guard, he leaped on to the first class coach T ignoring the 
sweaty masses hanging out of the doors in the other 
areas and sat down, , 

As the journey got under way, he calmed down a 
touch. There was a chance that the BR employees at 
the far end would have survived unscathed, except that 
the gang was on board. The gangsters burst through 
the far door of the first class compartment. ^Tickets 
please, ladies and gentlemen" they called as they swept 
down the aisle. Nobody could escape. 

They got to Mick, who, after a seconds hesitation, 
pulled out. his season ticket. The inspector looked at the 
ticket. He looked at Mick, A hush (apart from the 
squealing of the wheels) fell on the carriage, “Pm sorry 
Sir”, said the elippy. “This doesn't seem to be in order. 
Assume the position, dirt-ball”. At this, he pulled out a 
Jimmy's Special, the Saville .45 Magnum, and aimed at 



Mike. The other inspectors gathered around, eagerly. 

* L No" said Mick, “.Not this time. Not after Inter City.” 
With a wild yell he knocked the gun away, picked it up 
from the seat where it had landed, pulled a window 
down and squirmed on to the roof. A whistle sounded, 
and all down the swaying train inspectors swarmed up 
on to the top. Mick started to run down the chain of 
carriages. 

An inspector stopped and took aim. Too late - Mick 
had brought him down with the deadly accuracy 
brought on by madness. 

Towards the end of the train, the guard had supplied 
the inspectors with anti commuter grenades, standard 
equipment since the infamous Revolt of the Seven-Hour 
Delay Due to Leaves on the Line at Clapham, These 
exploded around Mick, but he weaved and swerved, 
shooting to kill and hitting every time. 

He was at the end of the train. The emergency escape 
device -'a small cart - lay before him. He jumped on, 
loosened the bolts and set off down the track. The 8:15 
pulled away with its load of carnage, The 8:34 lay 
ahead, and the wind blew the froth from Mick’s mouth 
as he continued his insane mission. 


Author: Ariolasoft 
Price: £4.99 



Another chase the baddies down the top of 
the train job. I've always found this kind of 
game a bit of a lottery, and skill doesn't, seem 
to enter into it. 


This one is no different, no worse and no better than 
any other of its ilk. Ariolasoft call it hilarious. I don't. 





Mountie Mick starts well, good title screen, 
colour rotation on the interrupts and multi¬ 
level scroll. The sprites are a bit small, 
Running down the train is very James Bondish, I 
don't understand where Mounties come into it, 
although I sympathise with anyone who has the motto 


“We always get. our man". 

The bit I did not like was the hand cart, waggling a 
joystick to make a sprite move is not my idea of fun. 
Longer trains and fewer of them would make a better 
game. 

U?j 



It is interesting how software houses which 
only do full price games think that £4.99 is 
cheap. Mountie Mick's Deathride is an 
experiment, to see how well cheap software sells, t 
think Ariolasoft will be surprised, it's a reasonable 
game and should persuade the games hungry 


amongst us to part with pennies, 3 found it difficult to 
run and jump at the same time but it has one of my 
ingredients - you can learn a route. Ariola are right., it 
would be a dead loss at £9.95 but mid-price its OK, 




Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 63 



























REVIEW 



SPACED OUT 

THE home micro and the board game have had quite an 
interesting relationship. Far from giving Monopoly the 
boot, computers have achieved a sort of symbiotic re¬ 
lationship with the dice throwing fraternity. 

Most successful board games spawn micro versions, 
but there haven’t been many that miss the card and 
counter stage altogether to hit the small screen First. 

Spaced Out is undeniably a computer board game. 
Like all good (and not a few bad) games, the rules are 
simple. There’s a grid of points on which players move,. 
The idea is to move your player (a cosmic cowboy in 
ten-parsec hat and stellar leather boots) from the 
bottom left of the grid to the top right. 

Movement is either along or up - no diagonals 
allowed - and the distance moved is cast by a couple of 
numbers which try ever so hard to be a pair of dice. No 
spots, but they do randomly set up two numbers 
between zero and six. Throwing a double means you 
move twice. 

There has to be competition, in this case the Nasties. 
These swarm over the playing area and try to get in 
your way. You can't jump over them, but you can move 
on top of one to space it out. Hence the name of the 
game. You, too, can experience the unique delights of 
getting well wasted if the Nasties manage to prevent 
you making any legal move with the numbers the dice 
give you,. 

On the numerical side of things, there are several 
factors that determine the success of the boardtrotter. 
Each move has to be completed within a minute, and 
time penalties start to clock up if you haven’t finished 
within 15 seconds. Spacing out an opponent (which 
removes it from the board* also accrues 100 penalty 
points. 

Spacing out yourself provides another 400, and 
another nasty makes an entrance to cheer you up. More 
penalties accumulate if you use more than the alloted 
20 moves, 

You start off with a handicap rating, and this sets the 
maximum number of penalty points you can take. To 
begin with this is usually in the high thousands, but 
should you succeed in your mission then the number of 



penalty points you scored becomes your handicap for 
the rematch. So you have to get as many penalties as 
possible in the first game (without going over the top 
and losing) to give yourself a better chance in the more 
difficult subsequent game. 

Joystick or keyboard is required for tho game, most 
people having at least one of the two, At the start, you 
can choose the size of board from about a twelfth to over 
three quarters of the screen, and also the number of 
nasties, nice are rolled by pressing the fire button, and 
you pick your moves by moving a pointer over a die and 
a direction arrow. 

There are a few unfathomables. Can you comprehend 
the rules governing the nasties 5 ramblings? Why is the 
icon that means you’re spaced out marked with a T? Is 
the game more interesting than playing Ludo with 
Aunty Mabel on Boxing Day? Only you, Firebird and 
the two quid in your pocket can provide the answer. 


Author: fire bird 
Price: £1.99 


Like wow, man. Spaced Out is a heavy 
handle to lay on a computer game. Like mind 
your head. But the action has little to do with 
the traditional meaning of the phrase. The game is a 
respectable cheapie, demonstrating the traditional 
board game attributes of alternating boredom and 


Mix space with a rootin' tootin’ cowsprite and 
a host of unfriendly helicopters and pac- 
thingies. The last thing you’d expect is a 
tward game. The instructions are next to useless and 


fascination. There’s also a measure of frustration as 
the Nasties skip seemingly at random across the 
board, sometimes blocking you in and sometimes 
leaving you strictly alone. A game to be bought and 
played once a month. 


% 



the play is diabolically slow but it’s fine when you get 
into it. Stilt J predict a flop. Spaced Out is not exciting 
and during the summer most people would rather be 
outside, 




Like the man said this is a board game on a moderated opponent for a start and is fun to play. The 
computer. Now, 1 usually dislike such things. game reminds me of Think! - also available on 

Half the fun is moving toy racing cars out of Firebird Silver, that requires greater cerebal effort 
jail free. Spaced Out is different. Its got a computer and the sprites aren’t as cute. Good game. 


&0 


Page 64 


Amstrad User September 1987 




























FIXED PRICE COMPUTER REPAIRS 


RAMASOFT 

Budget Utility Software 

For the AMSTRAD CPC range of home computers 


JUNIOR-WORDPRO 

JUNIOR WORDPRO tea word processor for the Amstrad CPC 464/664/6126 
designed specifically for children. Clear, and very simple to use. Amstrarf Action 
said" It is so easy >rs childs play* Some features boasted by 
JUNIOR-WORD PRO are: 

Full cursor movement' Fast movement to tho end and start of text ~ Full lino 
insert and delete ' Character insert at cursor * Forward and backward delete of 
characters 'Text a verwrite mode ' Rej'ustiflcatlon of ragged text * Easy text sa ve 
and load facility * Futty automatic printout m Word wrap at right margin " Rapid text 
centering * Mode 1 text and double fine spacing for clarity. 

J U N IQR J WORD PRO comes wi tli Ihree tutorial text fil es fo at guide your child 
through the functions of word processing, step by step, and include simple 
exercises. 

JUN lOR-WO R D PRO is £9.95 on cassette and £12.95 c n disc from: 


RAMASOFT Dept {A}, 6 Stile Plantation, Rpysrtjn H*rts. SG8 9HP 
Telephone: (0763) 43715_ 


000 Triple Zero Services 


Amstrad CP/M Users! 

Free Software? Yest 

Why thrajjfi stum a lies, Of t lert^B <*i flffl 

•ilm« aNK» tai-i. Is g# FutW SAtw. s-lf to Ind h Cmcrl 

en ^ Amei/Mt 

ttdW dom* Ite Hi-d **k fof f«i. fljf OOTpsoofls am laslod 0 -e nslitad 
irt A-^jad CAM. CfO Of KV). ijra r^firnfKfil 1w vwj bus FO 
pisgrilKH iwiTdfc** lO- )hf rrarhind (Jcl acly J-x I j( ttocjnerirti^ t 
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W* rtf ky nodta. ! ■- dj ai~ra\-.itic‘. 3flA Siifllfcjoon Joss *ta 

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wtHJtar !cf CPC x »Crt925ifl5l2 C?** StMTO. 
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Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 65 































































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FABRIC RIBBON CASSETTE FEE-INKING 
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WSA 


Page 86 


Amstrad User September 1987 























































































ZYNAPS 

GLANCING around the computer room shelves in 
Dunhackin, vour reviewer's palatial hovel, I noticed 
that something was missing. While they strained, nay 
groaned, under the weight of various Breakouts, Space 
invaders. Gauntlets and other arcade conversions, 
there was no Scramble. A sad omission for one who cut 
his lasers on the game. 

In Scramble a rocket was guided down a labyrinthine 
cave system. There were, of course lots of defenders 
launching rockets, bombs and other hindrances to dis¬ 
sipate your molecules, but it was a furs game that ate 
more florins than It had any right, to. And it is un¬ 
doubtedly the ancestor of Zynaps, 

Zynaps also has a rocket whizzing down a convoluted 
passageway, but this time it’s in an alien space station. 
There's a degree or two of di fie re rice in the weapon 
systems as well - the original Scramble had just lasers 
and bomb?. The Zynaps craft has pulse lasers, plasma 
bombs, homing missiles and seekers. 

This array of armaments is controlled by the fuel 
scoop, which picks blobs of energy from the wrecks of 
alien defenders and feeds it to the weapon of your 
choice. The lasers and bombs are standard issue, but 
get more effective the more energy you feed them. The 
missiles are a bit odder, 

Homers are guided by a crosshair on the screen, and 
once locked on to a target guarantee its annihilation. 
Seekers are a little bit smarter; they wander through 
the screen pulverising every alien construct that might 
conceivably turn nasty. 

Armed with these little toys, all you have to do to pass 
the first stage is zap a few flying hazelnuts, K lingo ns 
and assorted aliens to hang around at the end until the 
ship's doors open. It’s not easy, especially with the little 
red space mines and the FEN waiting for you (FEN = 
Fairly Enormous Nasty). But you will look back on 
those moments of fear with positive nostalgia when you 
get to the Asteroid Belt- 

Floating rocks were a feature of Scramble, but they 
were never like this, Huge chunks of gently ambling 



geological obliteration, they wander in dense formation 
through the space you’re trying to occupy simul¬ 
taneously. Guess who wins. 

Pass that stage, and it's time to go collecting. No, not 
stamps - hyperspace engines, alien planet busters, little 
things like that. Beats chasing after a 1932 Mongolian 
Magenta 2 Blogga in lightly franked condition any 
sideral day of the week, It’s a pity that the owners of the 
bits which your heart desires aren't too keen to part 
with them, but that's why Zarquan gave you pulse 
lasers. 

And what do you do with this junkyard of xeno mech¬ 
anical marvels? You go into battle, of course, Which is 
where stamp freaks would be at a bit or a loss. 

As the TEN (Truly Enormous Nasty) heaves into 
view you might reconsider that point of view. Very few 
philatelists end their days as a few specks of glowing 
gas, but you seem to bo making a habit of it.... Ah w T ell, 
back to the Stanley Gibbons. 


Author ; Hewson 

Price: £8.95 tape, £14.95 disc 



Hewson seems to be on the ascendant at the 
moment, even if it eschews the hype and hul¬ 
labaloo of certain other labels. Zynaps seems 
set fair to continue this trend, 

A nice evolution of a standard idea, it. keeps the 
game simple and fast so that simpletons like me can 
concentrate on mashing things rather than con¬ 
trolling umpteen icons and deciphering messy screen 


layouts. 

Against? The weapons control needed a lot of prac¬ 
tice to get right, and the joystick seemed a bit sensi¬ 
tive, with the occasional hurst of sluggishness. But 
this is another Hewson game [.hat’ll be making me 
miss deadlines a month from now, I’m keeping the 
tape, 




Once I’d got the tape off the other tw r o they 
are holding my Konix as security - I found 
out what all the fuss and noise w r as about, 
psychedelic colour rotation is just the start. 
Zynaps is a bit like Nemesis, albeit easier, 3 failed to 
get. to grips with the homer (always thought that Iliad 


was a kind of cough sweet — Ed) but liked the bouncy 
bomb. 

There were times when I felt that the collision 
detection was unfair, but that didn’t stop me playing 
till 3am. The best game this month. 




Bit. of a problem at first with this game. The 
idea of selecting weapons by scooping up the 
right number of lumps of fuel took a while to 
sink In, but by the time I’d mastered it 1 was sold. 
For the first time in aeons I’m going to say it - this 


game is addictive with a capital FI. The music at the 
beginning is worth listening to ail the w r ay through. 
Twice. Even though the high score name entry is a bit 
naff, I'm keeping the tape, 



Amstrad User September 1987 


Page 67 

































REVIEW 



ACE OF ACES 

The war is on. Asa member of the FiAF’s Mosquito arm 
you are responsible for taking the fight to the enemy, 
and a wide variety of missions will have to be success¬ 
fully completed before you can call yourself Ace of Aces. 

The first stage is gaining complete familiarity with 
your aircraft. It is a fighter/bomber, like you capable of 
many roles in combat. Let's select the practice mission 
to start with. 

We are flying over the Channel, From the cockpit the 
outside world can be seen {including the famous mid- 
Channel mountain range, hmmm . . ,) and the usual 
altimeter and artificial horizon give you vital infor¬ 
mation. 

The experimental radar in the corner spreads a green 
glow over the proceedings, its inquisitive finger 
scanning the empty skies ahead. 

Switching to the engineer’s view, we can see the port 
or starboard engines, Youll need to get here quickly if 
the fire extinguisher is needed or extra thrust is called 
for. This is also the place to activate the landing gear if, 
and it's a big if, you get back home again. 

Crawl down to the bombadieFs eyrie, where you'll see 
your remaining stocks of bombs, rockets and cannon 
shells.You can also switch out empty fuel tanks from 
here to improve trim and help economy. 

Just behind the pilot's seat is the navigator's console. 
The map is updated with the latest intelligence reports 
and shows train, U-boat, bomber and V-l movements. 
You can also spot impending storms - these you should 
try to avoid. 

Now it's time for the real thing. Rack in briefing you 
can choose which of the enemy forces to go for* V-l, 
U-boat and so on. You get a full intelligence report on 
strengths, weather conditions and likely air cover. You 
can also decide on the best mixture of weapons to carry 
- this can be vital. A last look at the map, and you’re oft. 

In the air your compass directs you to the target. 
Anything requiring your attention is announced by the 
intercom blinking, and it is important to get to the area 
in trouble and fix the problem fast. So practice. If the 



bombadier calls it means that the target is in sight and 
it's time to lay those eggs. 

When you are laden down with all those high explos¬ 
ives the plane is a bit sluggish, If you catch sight of the 
enemy you'll have to get them sharpish before they get 
you. If they do attack you might lose instruments, so 
you'll have to learn how to fly by the seat of your pants 
if you want to survive. 

Once you have flown a mission the computer will 
allow you to repeat it immediately, or rewind the tape 
to select a new one. Oise owners, of course, will find 
changing missions less of a chore. 

And so the night beckons. Once again the terror 
across the Channel is massing to attack the Allied 
cause, 

It’s time to strike back. 




PerhapsTm getting old. but the relentless 
gung-ho of these war games is wearing a bit 
thin. This one is otherwise OK. 

It’s quite difficult, and your aircraft handles a bit 


sluggishly in dogfights, making things a bit hit-or- 
miss. But there’s a lot in this well-produced game, and 
the novelty is unlikely to pall before you’ve got the 
much-vaunted epithet, 




There are two types of flying program, the 
simple to fly zappy sbol-em-up game and the 
difficult, accurate simulator. This follows the 
Dambusters trend by bridging that gap. 

Plying the Mosquito is no doddle without worrying 
about the odd ME 109 trying to riddle your airframe 
with holes. 


The business of swapping missions on tape is a bit of 
a bore. Perhaps it is because there are so many skills 
to master I found this a satisfying game. 

I started to panic as an engine caught fire ... I felt 
chuffed as I downed a bandit. You will believe a pro¬ 
gram can fly. 




Eighty ho! All you budding Biggleses sign on 
here please. Thank you for volunteering to do 
your duty for king and country. You choose 
your mission, make sure your Mozzy.is loaded with as 
much fuel and ammo as she can carry. 

The graphics are quite distinct, although they could 
have been more colourful (I suppose it is night time) 


and 1 liked the way the various menus were 
presented. 

As flight simulators go the flight bit is not so impor¬ 
tant, but there*® the added pleasue of bumping off a 
few of the enemy. The opposing planes are a bit- 
insistent, and it is too easy to wind up dead just when 
you thought you were winning. Ah w T ell . . 



Page 68 


Am st rad User September 1987 

































CPC software 

s?asSy«- 

Six immunity card 
, pack of money 


? T each 

0rn >*n co 


TnMTENTS INCLUDE 


Up for 
the Cup! 

Here's your chance to play 
football's first interactive 
computer and board game. 

Brian Clough's Football 
Fortunes is an exciting 
football management game 
with a difference — it 
combines an excellent range 
of computer-based features 
with a fascinating board 
game. 


The result for the players 
is a package which is as 
much fun and as skillful to 
play as other best-selling 
board games, combined 
with the flexibility and 
speed of play which only a 
computer can suppfy. 


1--— 


Format 

RRP 

Special 
reader offer 

YOU 

SAVE 

Offer including 
subscription 

YOU 

SAVE 

Tape 

£14.95 

£11.95 

£3 

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£14.95 

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—._, 


TO ORDER PLEASE USE THE FORM ON PAGE 71 


Amslrad User September 1987 


Page 09 












































































Binders 

Youx Amstrad Computer 
User Is the idea! source of 
reference for every user of 
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Subscription offers 


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Discs 3 re essential to anyone wiihan Asnairad disc driue so if you own a DDI-t, CPC 664 CPC 
6128. PCW 6266 or even a PCW 851 2 you will be interested In this special offer. 

Our discs COS! £ 2.74 e&ch. 

You could pay as much as twice that the usual price is around £4 per disc. 'There must be a 
catch '. Yes, there is - you can only qualify for the offer when you subscribe to Amstrad 
Computer User. 

rhese are official, thoroughly tested discs made by Panasonic. They are NOT the cheap, 
unreliable imports now coming on to the UK market 

See details on the Order form alongside. 


Dustcovers 

Keep your equipment free from dust and 
grime with an Amstrad Professional 


DMP2000/3000 
Printer £3.95 


CPC range 
Keyboard £3.95 
Monitor £5.95 


Computing dustcover, made from clear 



pliable vinyl and bound by strong red cotton and sporting the logo. 


DMP 2000/3000 Printer Cover. 

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CPC 464/664 keyboard cover. 

..£3.95 

CPC 6129 keyboard cover ,.... 

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Green screen monitor cover..... 

..£5.95 

Colour screen monitor cove*-..... 

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PC 1512 keyboard and monitor set.. 

.£9,90 ! 

PCW 0256 keyboard, monitor and printer set.. 

.£11.95 



Back issues 

1986 — February: Brainstorm review. 
Graphics adventure creator. OK'ironies 
ram expansion review, 

March: Communications survey. Laser 
Basic reviewed. The Music system 
examined. 

April: Using the 6845, Screen flipping 
on the 6128. Graphic packages 
reviewed ', 

May: Max Headroom. Joysticks 
compared. Tele text adapter reviews. 
Home spread listing. Dummy Run map. 
CPS review , 

June: Batman Map. Biggies preview. 
Get Dexter Map. Music made simple. 
ABC Planner calc. 

July: Palace interview, Activision, Load 
Spectrum screens into an Arnold.. Battle 
of the cars program. 

August: Equinox mapped. Printer mini- 
survey Midi interface , interceptor list¬ 
ing., Mastedronic interview. Last free 
issue of ABC. 

September: Spindszzy map , detailed 


assembler survey, joystick reviews, 
PCW games. 

October: PC 1512 reviewed, compilers 
tested, LocoMail Basic 2 and Animator 
reviewed. Hacking help with joysticks 
end Storm. Sound add-ons examined. 
Which flight simulator? 

November: Art package three-way test. 
Combat games compared. Using PIP, 
Mikro-Gen interview. Double trouble 
listing. 

December: Heartland preview, Rombo 
Vidi full test, Dan Dare map, defining 
function keys under MStios. 

1987 — January: Jail break, St a rg IIder, 
Model Universe reviewed, PC games. 
Amor interview , Frost Byte mapped. 
Crawler listing., Muiti coloured CPC. 
February: PC Programming, PCW 
Protext CPC Listings. Top Gun and 
Gauntlet reviewed. The Secret of the 
Red Boxes plus all the regulars. 
March: Nemesis preview, Music 
Machine - the ultimate Sound periph¬ 
eral- Making the most of Protext, 
Machine Code manipulation, Elite Disc 
hack, background print spooler and US 








































Bargain bundles 



An instant Amstrad Computer User Library 

Are you new to Amstrad User ? If so you've missed 
some great articles. Now There is a quick and easy way 
to catch up. We are offering two bumper bundles of 
Amstrad Computer Users which allow you to catch up. 


Bundle 1 •, March 19SS to July 1985 

This contains reviews of early software Knma's Zen and 
Arnor's MaKam assemblers, books, printers, the CPC 664, a 
plotter and speech synthesisers. There are games listings 
galore with such programming milestones as Rock Hopper, 
Cargo King, Froggie. Moonbase Alpha, Missile Attack and 
Trench Seasoned programmers and raw beginners alike will 
enjoy articles on usmg the Arnold's music function, a machine 
code fill routine, writing adventures, simulating relative files 
from Basic, a graphics toolkit and a lot more besides. 

Bundle 2: August 1985 to December 1985 
This contains reviews of screen designers, Cobgl. the first 
Amstrad HS232., The PCW 8256, CPC 6123, Ok innate 20 DK 
Light Pen, DMP 2000, Epson LG 1500. Help with Knight Lore, 
Technician Ted and Jet Set Willy II Programs like 3D Mare, 
Splatch, Am graph and Squash. Plus loads of interviews and 
features, 


Each bundle costs £4,95, a substantial saving over the usual 
price of back numbers. Just to show how generous we can 
be you can have the lot - both bundles for £8 35, Can't say 
fairer than thatl 




Back issues 
£1.25 each 


Gold interview. 

April: Computer Journey - what makes 
your Arnold tick, the Men from Micro - 
prose, Amstrad RS232 reviewed , 
Sentinel from Firebird , back-up 
reminder program. 

May: Arnbug - Build it yourself robot. 
Empire review. Art Studio from 
Bain bird Plumber droid Lilting, Plan It, 
the house finance organiser. 

June: Ranarama from Hewson , smooth 
screen scrolling, Head over heels mega 
map, Maxam U, Motor racing games. 
Citizen MSP printer, Machine code 
triangles. 

July: Mission Genocide - exclusive 
preview. Computer Journey it, what 
makes your discs drive. Amstrad Vs 
Star wide printers. DK Tronic s battery 
backed up clock. Hewson interview. 
Parrotry art package. 

August: Star fox preview , CPC through 
the crystal ball, how to program, 
Uitramon and Devpac machine code 
reviews, machine code breakout and 
Cheetah midi keyboard. 


. 

■woe 




PCW 8256/8512 
Keyboard, monitor 
and printer set 

onlvC11.95 set 


I Offers Subject fu 
avadafylty 
All prices include 
postage, packing S 
VAT, 


COMPUTER USER 

ORDER FORM 


Aft Overseas Hams I 
de&pichad by 
air mar 

Valid lo 31.9 Mi 


Subscriptions 

£12 UK 

E25 Europe ind Eire 
£4 E Overseas 


f*o 


Comrienoewlth 


8000 

80CU 

8002 

■ issue 


Renewals 


£12 UK 

E2$EUft*rtittl£ln 

friOOvarraaE 


Subscription offer f 

Five y discs (Europe add £2. Overseas add £c|. 

Ten 3T discs (Eunooe add £2. Overseas add £10! 

fOniy available if accompantod by subscription order, 


$$11 

$812 

8313 


£13.70 SI TO 
£27.40 $1H 


Rainbird Advanced Music System 

Wnn sub* Wuhou! sub 

CPC 464,664,61£3 Disc £19.95 £21.96 813&S137 I 

‘Only if accompanied by ailtscrption order or rwxrwat 

Add £2 tar Europe£4 Far Overseas 

Rainbird Advanced Art Studio 


□ 


Oise 


wnhsub' 

£16.35 

£29.95 

£46.90 


CPC 464, 6&VB12B 
□KTronica 64k Ram 
Disc * Ram 

1 0nly avaitebte if acoOrrpanied by subscription order or renewal 
Add £2 for E urou<a‘£4 Cor Overseas 


wtihoui sub 

£18.35 sumui 
£31,95 Bt42>Sm 
£50.90 G1448US 


Brian Clough's Football Fortunes 


CPG Disc 
CPC Tape 


With sub* Wilhout sub 

£10,95 £14,95 814&B15Q 

£7,95 £11,95 815VB1S2 


r Qniy available if accompanied Try S Lteerpton order or renat/ai 
Add £2 for £LMOpeVE4 lor Overseas 


Bargain bundles 

Bundle 1 - * March 95- J uly 35 £4.95 St48 

Bundle 2 - 1 Augusl 05-De«rT*jer 35 £4.95 SI*7 

Bundle 3 — " March 65-Decembar 95 £9.35 AT 48 

■ HuntfBs 1 « 2 UK £4.95. Europe £6,95, Overseas £13.95 
- B^nd e 3 UK £3.35, EuroarC-i 2 J5. Overseas £26.35 


Back numbers 


UK £1.25 


1966 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 


$014 

6015 

SOW 

8017 

SOW 

$0t9 


Jury $020 
August 9021 
SaplerrtMir 9022 
October 9023 
November $02* 
December $025 


1937 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 


8026 
$027 
802$ 
$029 
80.30 
903 f 
9032 
$033 


Dust covers 



CPC 464, 1 664 keyb&afd 

£3-95 

$100 

CPC 6128 keyboard 

E39S 

$101 , 

CPC renge green screen 

E59i> 

$102 

CPC range odour monitor 

£5.25 

$103 

DMP 2QOOV3DOO Printer 

£5.96 

8105 

PCW 6256 Keyboard, monitor and primer sel 

£11.95 

910* 

PC 1512 Keyboard + ootour monitor set 

£9.90 

913* 

PC 1512 Keyboard + mono montorsot 

£9,90 

9135 


Binder 


£4 ,95 UK 
£7,95 Europe 
£11.95 Overeaas 


BIOS 


Restate in Europe (Inc. Eire) 6 Oversea? please 
add C2 per Item Uti ca? pthenwise Mallj 


TOTAL 


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With monitor, data 
£>100 of software yo 


(Until mummy catc 



With the Amstrad 464 home computer the fun 
starts as soon as you get it home. 

Because unlike many other home computers 
the 464 comes complete with its own green screen or full 
colour monitor. 

It also comes with a 
convenient built-in datacorder. 

And you get £100 worth 
of software with games lik 
Harrier Attack and Sul¬ 
tan’s Maze, Not to men 
tion Oh Mummv 
64K of RAM 



means you have plenty of memory to play with. 

And there are over 200 Amstrad games you can play, 
many exclusive to Amstrad. 

But games are only half the fun on the 464. 

The kids can learn 
spelling and arithmetic with 
software like Word hang and 
Happy Numbers. 

Whilst adults will love 
the way that it helps 
around the house 
with budgeting and 
accounts. 


AVAIL A HI 6-1 AT Al \\W R5 ■ BOOTS ■ C L\ DI 5DAI S COMET • CONNECT • COOP • CUltRYS • IJ>J3tONS • ELECTRIC SUPREME • LAiK VS JOHN LEWIS ■ JOHN MENZIE5 POWER CITY RUMBELOWS 

























., r.jV. ~*y ; 

: B r S 

_ ; >■; w-.‘ 


'OH mm**- «■ itJE t StlFTUflRF 


piumwiN 


i.’okt wn 


>>«-£> :'vtf, 


u can’t lose 


To help you make the most of your 464, you can 
join the A ms trad User Club, 

And there arc lots of books and magazines devoted 
to it as well 

What's more you can buy joysticks, printers, disc 
drives, speech synthesisers and light pens to make it 
even more fun. 

But perhaps the most pleasurable thing about the 
464 is the price. 

The complete home computer costs just £199 with 
green screen or £299 with colour monitor. 

Not much to pay for a chance to get away from 
mummy 


r 


Pfeaseserid me more information. 


N 


iime. 


Address 


The Amstrad 464. 

The complete home computer. 

Amstrad pic., P.Q. Box 462, Brentwood, Essex CM 14 4LF. 


ACU 9/67 


J 


11 MM i -ft II. SMITH WIGJALLS ■ AMD GOOD INDEPENDENT COMPUTE]!. STORES- 



































. '!' I!!! MM 1 !!!" "!!! M "!!! -“—-— .. . .. - ... .... — 





The Least 
Significant Bit 


controlled robot. It. may well be the programmer's 
fault if the shop steward ends up spot welded to a Fiat 
Strada, but the law is bunk when it stipulates all 
software. 

This is evident in the LocoScript 2 manual which 
says that Locomotive cannot be held responsible for 
the result of a bug, except in the case of death. How 
could LocoScript 2 kill someone? You could have died 
waiting, I suppose. 


Rainbird Mouse 

IT rather dents prestige when you discover that the 
country’s poshest software house has a rodent prob¬ 
lem. British Telecom soft has smart West End offices 
with w T ater coolers, a Macintosh on every desk and 
mice.. Not the sort of mice with two buttons and a 
rubber ball, but the kind that have whiskers and a 
tail 

So when you find that your copy of the advanced art 
studio has been nibbled at you know the mice have an 
artistic bent. There arc two of them, obviously 
Rainbird compatible, and so the staff has leapt into 
action and given the furry fiends names. The brown 
one is called AMX, and the grey one Kempston. 

Euro ruling software liability 
causes death 

LAWS are peculiar things. For instance, did you know 
that it is illegal to whistle in Burlington Arcade? I 
hope I don’t lose my keys next time 1 pop into S Fisher 
for a jumper. The laws which come from Brussels are 
even more peculiar. One ruling prevents software 
houses from denying responsibility in the event of a 
bug killing someone. 

Now that makes sense in the case of a computer- 


LS2 beats Z88 

NO, that’s not fair. OK so LocoScript 2 was due out in 
April, but then so was the Z88. Well, the first cus¬ 
tomers now have the goods, but Locomotive beat 
Cambridge, by two days in a three-month race and 
that’s not much to write home about. The surprising 
thing is how good they are. Knowing how panicky 
both companies must have got, you’d expect short cuts 
to have been made. Not at all, they both seem really 
greeeet. 

Screwdriver party 

JEZ Sati, author of Starglider for the ST and Amiga, 
friend of the editor and general computer person, 
received his Z88 a w T eek early and brought it. into the 
ACU office. 

Now none of us journalist types were allowed to look 
at the latex-layered beast because Jez had signed a 
form which forbade him from showing the machine to 
anyone w T ho might write about it. I can’t think why, 
because the one we have seen is very good, 

This did not stop half the stall of Amstrad Technical 
from attacking the black beast with the Hairy Hack¬ 
er’s Swiss Army knife to find out what makes it tick. 
They were moderately impressed, and recognised 
many bits as being close to the Spectrum in design. 


ADVERTISERS’ 

INDEX 

A! addin k... 

.*,,*, 66 

Cvca..56 

Nemesis... 

56 

Alsan Technology. 

.15 

Database Software..,*, 36,37 

Ocean.... 

*. 6 

Amsoft... 

.75 

Datavise....65 

0. J. Software.... 

61 

Amstrad... 

72,73 

DH Software..* 65 

Opalsoft.. 

56 

Amstrad Computer Show.. 9 

G-Ten.66 

Ramasoft.*... 

65 

Amstrad Distribution 

.22 

Garwood......* 16 

Romantic Robot. 

8 

Analytical Engines*.,. 

.65 

Goldmark Systems.62 

RSD Connections. 

31 

Arc Education,.. 

.66 

HSV Computer Services . 26 

S&M Software. 

56 

Arnor . 

.4 

Jackson Computers.66 

SBS Computer Supplies 

24 

Astrocalc....*. 

.66 

LCL Educational Software*. 15 

School Software... 

61 

Campbell Systems. 

.2 

Matmos....66 

Screens Microcomputers 

30 

Cheetah. 

.31 

Meridian Software.62 

Selec Software. 

61 

Chi 1 tern Computers .. 

.66 

MicroLink___13 

Siren Software. 

22 

Compumart... 

...... 35 

Micro wise..,,.66 

Tasman...44,45 

Computer Trading..*.. 

.* 76 

Mirage Microcomputers *. 21 

Triple Zero .. 

65 

Connect. 

.52 

MJC Supplies**.*.*.*.61 

Typeshare*.*.. 

22 


Page 74 


Amstrad User September 1987 












































JOIN THE CLUB • SCOOP THE SAVINGS 



BY JOIN IMG the Official Users Club you 
can buy a whole range of new software at 
fantastical ly low prices to make your Amstrad 
even more versatile and useful than eve* 

By taking advanta g e of the savin gs you 
will recoup your membersh ip fee in only 
weeks! Look what else you get: 

The widest range of branded Amsrrad 
approved products stocked in depth all ai 
substantial discounts o ? up to 15%. 

HELP HOTLINE for any technical advice you 
need. 

12 MONTHS FREE subscription to Amstrad 
Computer User: 

24 hour telephone ordering facility. 

FREE monthly newsletter packed with hints 
tips and reviews. 

A Exclusive prod acts for dub mem bers. 
Privileged previews of new products. 

Big prize competitions. 

Products delivered direct to your door 


CLUB MEMBERS 
ALWAYS SAVE 

▲ CPC OWNERS A 

We arways have in stock a targe selection 
of products at highly competitive prices 
including, the complete AMSTRAD 
range, dozens of ARIMQR products, the 
Top 20 games, pius a huge catalogue of 
bargain games, and exclusive special 
offers at discount prices, 

A HAROWARE&UTiUTffiSA ! 

When it : s time to widen your computing 
horizons - the club has printers, 
modems, leads, interlaces and 
compli mentary software at i ncredi ble 
discount prices. 

RING FOR DETAILS 



2 top tape games or 
1 game on disk. 
Choose from the 
extensive list which 
comes with your 
welcome pack! 


ORDER ACTION LINE - DIAL 091-5673395 NOW! 

For extra-fast attention, order now by phone quoting Access or Visa number. 
Or fill in the coupon below. 

OFFICIAL AMSTRAD USER CLUB - VICTORIA HDUSE - PO BOX 10 ■ SUNDERLAND - SFttSPV. 


n ____ 

A HOWTO JOIN THE CLUB A 

Simply fill in the coupon and return if to us 
at the address shown together with your 
remittance. Well send you your special 
membership card and a giant fist of games 
from which to make your FREE choice. 

FOR OFFICE URF ONLY 



Yes. i wan' to enjoy :he benefits d Amstrad User s Club Membership please enrol me today and send my 

welcome peck. I enclose cheque, 1 PO or erec t care Mo lor £1 Sl95. 

Please send all details to; acuo 

NAME:_ _ _ -, 

ADDRESS:_ _ 


ACCESS/VISA. 


A i otters subject atraiaaily: ill prices core*? sitlira cl goirrg \:> press. 


■ POST TO 
OFFICIAL AMSTRAD 


VICTORIA HOUSE 
SUNDERLAND 


- USER CLUB 
P,Q» BOX 10 
SRT 3PY ■ 
















































































































Runs on the sensational new Amstrad 1512 PC and IBM PC compatibles. 
Over 1000 sites have proved this software over the last 4 years. 




V 



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request: 

Multi Company £99.00 
Payroll £99.0 0 
Multi-User £500*00 


B! IY IT AND TRY IT 

A real profit opportunity for 1987 

With 'he increasing demand tar Snip, 11 k Computer 
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computer dealers to provide installation and tinning. 
II you would like to become a member of rt» Group 
please call. 

The following Centres can supply systems and 
provide professional training and support: 

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Serves01-660 6 *42 Dertry. NeltJ., l^CS, tsan l M 
(0032} 360202 Gtaucestienriri Fullon Compusejs (0464i 
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Louden; 1.. Hume Countiei Sofia 5 Cn for V \60031 
London. S.E Oave & Co. Of-703 £-648 London: E W. 

flhndswBlh Ccmpjlers Ltd. Cl -6710823 N .West CFM Hd 
051-6*7 3671 Medway hteysden Business Services 
[07321366012 Middx. Pioneer D.R Lid. 01-937 5748 
Sussex Biel Ctela Systems Lid (Wjaj&i t. Hants. 
tk m Surrey Abacus Maia&engrt Lid. [(^2031 
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SNIP is a well balanced, thoroughly researched and carefully manufactured 
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With the cost of computer hardware corning down dramatically, the fully 
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Please unviete this hhihci and return il lo: Computer Trading Co, Lid, 26a h yh Street, Andover. Ham&shne 3P101NN. 


Order delails 

Please send me TicktxM(e3) 

□ Snip Accounting Suite E99.00 + VAT 
Addihondl leaiures 

□ Multi Detriment £99 00 + VAT 

□ Multi company £99.00 + VAT 

□ Payroll £99.00 + VAT 

□ Multi-user £500 00 +■ VAT 
Pease add £2 5Qlcf P&P 

□ Amstiad ta1220mb £699.00 + VAT 

TOTAL AMOUNT £ 


I enclose cheque lor £__, 

Piease cnaroe my Access Account 

i m m i: 11111111 

txpiry&ate EXCEED 


Signature_ 

Dealer Enquiry 

□ I wouta like to be considered tar a SNIP Training 
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teme_ 

Ppsilron. 


Company- 
_ Address. 


Tel No. 


TELEPHONE 


( 0264 ) 52096 385?* ( 0963 ) 24551 


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